The Hand of Lady Hyuga
by the point
Summary: In a world where daughters are favoured over sons and women rule over men, the primary topic is the mysterious Lady Hyuga. With news of her arrival in the capital, clans scramble to present their marriageable sons and political intrigue is rife. HinataHarem
1. Chapter One

**Why am I writing this? Simple. Because I'm upset that there're a lot of Naruto/Harem fics (and they are popular), but not a lot of Hinata/Harem fics (and they are **_**not**_** so popular). It seems like it's alright for Naruto to be with multiple women, but Hinata can only be with one man. Even in love triangles, she always ends up picking one man. WHY CAN'T SHE HAVE BOTH?**

**(As you can see, I'm a little feminist right now.)**

**So here we are with this fic. I originally wanted it to be a romance with almost zero plot… but I was afraid it'd be too boring and everyone would just not read it. (Yes, I like people reading my stuff.) I can't guarantee the update rates, or even if I'll be updating it. I still have Summoner-nin, and this fic is going to require me to think a lot more.**

**Sometimes, after a hard day at school, I sorta don't wanna think too hard, ya know?**

**Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the first chapter, at the very least.**

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter One**

The Household of the Hyuga knew well enough to wake an hour before sunrise to prepare the stoves for fire and to collect the eggs from the chickens for breakfast. The Branch members, especially, had borrowed time to tend to their toiletries and dress themselves before giving the vast corridors the first sweep of the day, the windows the first wipe and to light the incenses to ward off evil and dispel whatever curses the night may have left behind.

One such Branch member swept down one of the vast Hyuga corridors to oversee the other women and men tending to the cleaning and readying of the day. Her kimono, spare but with a silver obi that bespoke her rank in the House, flashed in the candlelight as she stepped into the kitchens to go over that day's menu with the chef; giving several suggestions for substitution if the chickens did not produce good eggs that day.

Hair in an immaculate and rigid updo, streaked with several grey strands as proof of her experience with a single bejewelled hairpin of the Hyuga Housekeeper slicked within her tresses, she began to rememorize the day's schedule of her Mistress. She _did not_ rush, she _floated_ even in her age to look over the dustless cabinets, the unwrinkled silk drapes, and the polished porcelain.

Everything was immaculate. Everything was perfect. Everything was unchanged.

Everything was as befitting of the Hyuga name and the honour of their Mistress.

Refusing to appear satisfied, least the other Branch members may think they had done well, she turned from the House and into the gardens just as the sun was beginning to peak. The Main House was to rise soon. Noting this, she drew out a pair of quicksilver scissors and clipped a delicate bouquet of peach-pink peonies and then another of wicker-white wisterias.

Cradling them in the crook of her arm, she went over to the fowl coup to watch the young Hyuga children feed the chickens and ducks, and gather eggs into a basket. A short distance away, there were several Hyuga men milking the cows and letting the sheep into pasture. From afar, she could hear the Hyuga warriors starting their morning training, going through the verbatim series of the Juken and the Byakugan, and the repetition of their loyalty to the Hyuga name.

She let herself soften her expression then, when one little girl boasted, quite proudly, of, "The Lady Hyuga says that _my_ Byakugan is really, really strong!"

Sighing softly to herself, the Hyuga Housekeeper looked out to the endless expanse of the Hyuga lands and estate. The size had been increased exponentially since the last war as a gift to their Mistress, the great heroine of Konoha now. It was not all here, as all the Hyuga knew, for they owned several farmlands in the far south (for wine and cotton production) and townhouses (small estates) in most of the major cities in the kingdom. There were very few places within Konoha where there was not a single Hyuga – several Hyuga houses dotting even the land of Suna – a stronghold at the border of Kumo for security and infiltration purposes.

The last war had made Konoha wary, and for good reason.

Grim now, the Housekeeper made for the front gates to retrieve the mail for that morning, a pile that, if she had not been a ninja, would have surely crippled her wrists from the weight alone. She noticed, after a quick once-over, that they were the same material they had been acquiring for the better part of the past _five years_. Thanking the postman, she returned to the Main House, never rushing, ever patient – always the Hyuga.

Her Mistress deserved the best, after all.

"Airi," a rough, wizened male voice called out.

Airi, the Hyuga Housekeeper, turned gracefully, slow and gentle like the Juken, to face the former Regent of the Hyuga Clan with a bow. As old as she was, her knees did not protest at her action, familiar with the deed and, indeed, almost wanting more – to run across the fields and rooftops to give chase to a missing-nin… or two. But she was old now, _retired_ now, and understood that her duty now lied with reforming the administration of the Hyuga Clan to be more efficient – to keep up with their Mistress' quick and often complicated mind.

"Lord Hiashi," she intoned with the outmost respect.

The man came forward and she obligingly, without being told as this was now a part of the morning rituals within the Hyuga Household, handed the morning's mail to him. Tall and imposing, certainly a worthy Consort of the former Head of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuga cut a formidable figure as he went through the scrolls in quick successive glances, the Byakugan activated to look for traps and such.

But they never did have traps, even after _five years_. Instead, Lord Hiashi wordlessly, and efficiently, pulled several scrolls he found unworthy and ridiculous, and handed the now reduced pile back to the Housekeeper. Ever the vigilant father, the Hyuga Clan understood that it was the duty of Dowager Consort to wheedle out the weak. He understood, for the ten years that he had ruled, who and what was worthy of the Hyuga.

"Go," he dismissed, turning towards his private study. They all knew he was to burn the scrolls that were not credible for the eyes of the Head of the Hyuga; mere words and… _requests_ that were a waste of her time and energy and _sympathy_.

The Housekeeper bowed to his retreating back, and then turned to the office of their Mistress, deep within the labyrinth of the Hyuga House, within a small private crevice with its own Koi pond and garden, and a small field of flowers and grass. Placing the wisterias into the tall porcelain vase by the door to indicate that the Head of the Clan was in, she knocked on the rice paper door two times, before entering.

The Hyuga elite guards – affectionately titled as the_ "Hyuga Triple Threat_" – nodded in her direction as the Head of the Clan gave her a smile and a quiet, "Good morning, Airi."

"The sun rises and sets gently, Lady Hyuga." The Housekeeper touched her knees to the ground and pressed her forehead against the cool wooden boards, waxed and polished just that morning. Everything was immaculate for their Mistress.

The Head of the Clan nodded in acquiescence and the Housekeeper stood to place the peonies in the round porcelain vase on her Mistress' desk, off to one side. As according to schedule, several butlers came in to serve breakfast to the Head of the Clan; the Triple Threat having had eaten half an hour earlier.

As the men set the table for their Mistress, the Housekeeper released the windows and slid one whole wall off to the sides to open up the office into the garden outside. The soft summer breeze that carried in the honeysuckle and birdsongs was welcoming, and when the Housekeeper faced her Mistress again, her heart was glad to see her smiling at the sky.

It was, however, most unfortunate that the smile was to end soon. As the most important meal of the day, for the past _five years_ the Head of the Clan had yet to enjoy her breakfast without _something_ obstructing her, without some upsetting mail that made her fresh eggs taste like ash in her mouth. And as much as the Housekeeper did not wish to give her Mistress her mail, she, at the very least, stalled the unpleasantness, as always, by going through her Mistress' schedule that morning.

She explained the purpose of the upcoming Hyuga Council meeting, and then reminded the Head of the Hyuga what they had concluded in the last meeting and which topics had been left untouched or unfinished. Then she related the decisions and issues of the Hyuga Branch Council meeting that had just occurred late last night, and which concerns the Branch Elders wished to take up with the Head of the Hyuga. Afterwards, she listed all the necessary Hyuga problems the Head of the Hyuga may wish to take up: the shortage of kunai in their inventory, the negative result of the spring floods in one of their southern farmlands, and the strange (and bordering on alarming) increase of male Hyuga children.

And finally, in good news, the Housekeeper informed, "Lady Hanabi will be arriving this afternoon from her visit to the capital. The Dowager Consort's schedule has been freed for dinner, and the menu has already been placed within your morning paperwork."

The Head of the Household smiled, and nodded, already reaching for the pile of papers placed ever-so-immaculately at the corner of her desk. "Thank you, Airi. I cannot say how happy I am to know that my sister will be in the house again."

One of the Triple Threat, the sole female, leaned forward with a grin. "Lady Hanabi has only been gone for a week."

"A week too long," the leader of the Triple Threat, the only Hyuga of the three, voiced impatiently.

The female Threat rolled her eyes and shared a smile with the Head of the Household.

"Yosh!" the third Threat burst with an energetic nod. "It is good to get out into the open air once in a while! I am sure Lady Hanabi's _youthfulness_ has been regenerated from her short trip!"

The Head of the Household laughed, hugging her cup of jasmine tea in her hands; breakfast done with almost no bouts of being upset. It was then that the Housekeeper had to disrupt the good cheer, the light in her Mistress' eyes, when she finally placed the stack of scrolls in her arms onto the table – _the morning mail_.

The Head of the Household stilled; the Triple Threat turning silent. Just like the past _five years_, they despised the morning mail and what the corresponding scrolls represented, hinted at, _hoped desperately for_.

With a hushed sigh, the Head of the Household managed a smile. "Thank you, Airi. Dismissed."

The Housekeeper placed her knees on the ground and pressed her forehead to the wooden boards again. Rising, she did not turn her back as she took her steps backwards and, finally, out of the room. The doors shut quietly, leaving the Head of the Household and the Hyuga Triple Threat to their own designs.

Once they were sure that Airi was gone, and that the area was free of possible gossipy Hyuga servants and prying Byakugan eyes, Hinata Hyuga set her tea down with a heavy sigh and did not give the scrolls another look, knowing that it would only disorient her even further.

Five years. _Five years_, and she had assumed that all this farce would have ended by now.

"This one looks handsome," Tenten teased.

Hinata's head snapped up and, to her horror, saw Tenten and Lee going through the scrolls, but for two _very different_ purposes. Tenten was obviously for mockery, whereas Lee was _actually serious_. One would believe that after _five years_ that she wasn't serious about this.

"This _Shino Aburame_ seems promising," Lee mused aloud, flipping the scroll _upside down_ to get _a better look_.

"_Ooh_," Tenten gushed in an exaggerated manner. "An _Aburame_."

Hearing Tenten's supposed "approval," Lee emphatically pushed the scroll out for Hinata to see with a giant grin of sparkling teeth. It was a beautiful scroll, Hinata would admit; crafted with the most expensive silk from the rarest silkworms that could only be acquired within the Aburame Clan. Painted at the top of the scroll was a rectangular portrait of who she could only assume to be "Shino Aburame" with his telltale Aburame shaded glasses and high-collared jackets. _Half his face couldn't even be seen!_

Hinata didn't even know where to begin.

"_You cannot even see what he looks like_!" Neji hissed vindictively.

Hinata was thankful that _someone_ had said something because it certainly wasn't going to be Tenten, who was trying very hard to hold back her laughter.

Lee gaped, appalled by Neji's reaction. "But _Neji_, it is not the _appearance_ that matters! It is his _youthfulness_! It is what is _inside of him_ that counts!"

"_Yes_," Neji snapped impatiently. "Hundreds of kikaichu that could kill my cousin _while they are in bed_!"

And just as quickly, her cousin had inadvertently turned on Hinata, for Neji quickly picked up one of the scrolls he had already partook of with his Byakugan beforehand and unfurled it with dramatics. Tenten was going to burst with laughter judging by how red her face was turning.

"_He_, as I have been saying for the past _five years_, will be the perfect Consort to the Lady Hyuga," Neji declared, holding up the scroll with such certainty that it was almost humorous. Considering that he had been doing so for the same candidate for the past _five years_, _everyday_ was enough to send Tenten rolling onto the floor with laughter.

All Hinata could do was sigh, and swallow the rest of her tea. She used the opportunity to avoid her cousin's avid stare by pouring herself another steaming cup, wishing that it would all stop, in particular Tenten's roaring laughter that had scared the birds away… _again_.

"Brother Neji," she began.

"_No_, Lady Hyuga," the male Hyuga interrupted, adamant even when he knew that he had just erred erroneously. "I understand that you do not wish to wed the incompetent and the unworthy and the idiots-"

Tenten snorted and Lee huffed indignantly.

"_However_," Neji continued as if there was no peanut gallery, "you cannot deny that Lord Sasuke Uchiha will be the perfect Hyuga Consort."

Hinata refrained from sighing again, already knowing what Neji's arguments were going to be. They were the same ones he had been using for the past _five years_, altered only to include the Uchiha's "mounting accomplishments," according to one Neji Hyuga.

"He is an Uchiha," Neji listed with an unwavering glint in his colourless eyes.

Tenten quieted then.

"He is the second son of the Main Family," the Hyuga male continued. "He is now a jonin – at _twenty_. He is proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu and _genjutsu_, like all other Sharingan users. Not only that, but they _still_ say that he is the strongest in his generation-"

"You mean _our_ generation," Tenten cut in with a raised brow.

"_His_ generation," Neji repeated with _emphasis_. "We are older than him."

"Then you should have said 'in his age group,' not 'in his generation,'" Tenten gave a snarky reply.

Neji didn't even bother arguing with her. Instead, he looked to Hinata expectantly, as if she would suddenly take on his idea after _five years_ of him vouching for the Uchiha…

"No," Hinata said, _firmly_.

Neji frowned. "Lady Hyuga-"

"No."

"_Hinata_," Neji finally stressed, at his rope's end. "At least explain to me _why_ he is unacceptable."

Hinata did not know where to begin, and after _five years_, she didn't want to shoot down his _obvious_ preference and hurt his feelings, but-

"_He is an Uchiha_," she said gravely.

And that was enough. Neji understood as he rolled up the scroll and placed it back onto the pile without another word. They understood why he would vouch for the Uchiha, and why she would gainsay the Uchiha.

Sasuke Uchiha could be as _powerful_ as he could be, as _handsome_ as he could be, as _popular_ as he could be, but he was an _Uchiha_, and that was the end-all as far as the Hyuga was concerned. After that travesty within the Uchiha Clan during the Ten Years War, they were almost a virus no other Great Konoha Clan would touch, especially one of the Three Powerhouses, even if Uchiha being one of them – _Hyuga_ being the leading figure in the aftermath of the war.

"And _Shino Aburame_?" Lee asked cautiously… hopefully…

Hinata, the container of much more patience than the average Hyuga… or even ten Hyuga combined, turned to Lee and graced him with a smile. With a quick glance of the Aburame's scroll, she shook her head "no."

Lee deflated. "Why? Is he not youthful enough?"

Hinata giggled. "No, Lee, that is not why."

Lee waited for her explanation while Tenten closed her eyes and relaxed, already knowing Hinata's reasoning and logic.

"He is the only child of the Aburame's Main Family," Hinata explained and Lee drew his lips together grimly, beginning to understand. "It is… inauspicious enough that they have no daughters… but to take their only child away, even if he is a son, seems cruel to me. If there is no daughter to inherit, then certainly the son must rule."

Lee sadly rolled the scroll back up with a disheartened sigh.

"Plus," Tenten quipped to lighten the mood, "you can't even tell if he's _handsome_ or not."

Lee frowned. "It's the _inside_ that counts!"

"I _will not_ have the next Hyuga heir turn out _physically unattractive_," Neji cut in sourly.

Hinata bit her lips together, not wanting her cousin-brother to say something so… _shallow_, but she knew that if her sister were present, Hanabi would say something even _worse_. The Hyuga _were_ known for their ethereal, almost ghostly, beauty in their midnight hair and pale moon eyes. They used them to their advantage, especially useful for missions requiring the seduction of the opposite, and sometimes the same, gender.

"Perhaps the Aburame did not think that we would care about appearances," Lee supposed aloud.

Tenten raised a brow and pointed out, and quite bluntly too, "It's a _matchmaker scroll_. The receiver _always_ cares about the looks of a potential spouse."

Lee sighed, finally giving up as he placed the scroll back onto the pile.

"Okay, my turn." Tenten sat up sharply with a grin. "What do you think of _him_, Hinata?"

Ever the weapons mistress and adept in scroll works, the sole female of the Triple Threat flung the scroll open in the air with a dramatic dance, the silk sliding open with a soft _hiss_ – sensual and promising and-

"No," Hinata said.

Tenten faltered. "Why?"

"Because he is the only child of the Uzumaki," Hinata said, this time raising a brow of her own. "I already explained why it cannot be the Aburame. The Uzumaki are in the same position."

Tenten frowned. "But it has been announced that Lady Uzumaki's position is to go to her niece upon her death."

"That cannot be guaranteed," Neji said, a lot calmer now. "If her son is to have a daughter, then the girl will be the one to inherit. If he marries Lady Hyuga, then our clans will contest over the heir."

Tenten pinched her lips together. "I'm sure we can draw up a Marital Agreement over the potential conflict of begetting heirs…"

"Even so." Hinata shook her head. "_He is an Uzumaki_."

At that, Tenten understood, much like Neji had understood that the Uchiha was unacceptable because he was an Uchiha. Although the Uzumaki were not cursed like the Uchiha, they were one of the Three Konoha Powerhouses.

Hyuga, Uchiha and Uzumaki – the relationships between the Three Powerhouses had to be monitored and constructed carefully – conducted with caution. Hinata _was not_ going to upset the equilibrium by choosing one over the other, especially when they had no daughters to inherit for the next generation. The Hyuga had been lucky, to have two daughters – an heir _and_ a spare. It was one of the reasons why the Hyuga were the preferred Powerhouse within the Empress' Court.

"_Well_," Tenten sounded with exaggerated fatigue, placing the scroll back onto the table. "I think those are the best picks for this morning."

"They are the _same_ picks _every_ morning," Neji pointed out, agitated by the lack of options.

Hinata understood Neji's feelings, wanting to secure the Hyuga's position for another generation. However, Hinata was not in a hurry. She was only twenty; she had twenty more child-bearing years left in her, and with Hanabi _five years_ younger than her, Hinata had no fear in leaving the position of the Head of the Hyuga empty. If anything, she could always choose Neji's child as her successor… whenever he decided to marry and copulate of course.

Hinata Hyuga had no interest in marriage or children.

She was the clan's, first and foremost, and Konoha's second. She could not find a plausible reason to divide herself into a third portion for a husband, and how many times afterwards if she were to have children – _children_, meaning more than one if the clan had anything to say about it (and they did, and sometimes _loudly_ too). Like her mother, the former Head of the Hyuga, Hinata would give herself wholly to the clan and her kingdom, and nothing else.

Her mother's greatest mistake, Hinata sometimes believed, was having children – was having _Hinata _specifically. It had been, after all, Hinata that had led to her downfall and, ultimately, her death.

"_Well_," Tenten huffed again, this time falling back onto her pillow seat. "It doesn't matter. It's not like we're in a hurry to have babies anyway."

Hinata smiled ruefully and Neji looked to the table in contemplation.

With that, as it had been for the past _five years_, they reached for the paperwork on the table and began to tackle the issues of the Hyuga, of Konoha, and of the world when there was a call for it. There was no issue, too big or too small, that Hinata did not oversee at some point, no bullying within the Hyuga she did not known about, no corruption within the Konoha administration she did not see the end to, or no skirmishes within international borders she did not try to dissuade.

For she was the Lady Hyuga, Head of the Hyuga Clan, and there was very few things that could escape her all-seeing eyes.

xxx

**the point**


	2. Chapter Two

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Two**

It wasn't that the journey had been trying, or that her stay in the capital had been lacking, or that the Empress had been unaccommodating, but rather she would have preferred to stay at home than to manoeuvre through the political deathtrap that was the Konoha Imperial Palace. She had patience, of course, more so than the average Hyuga, and she certainly wasn't lacking in the manipulation department (she was a _Hyuga_, by the Great Goddess – "manipulation" was her _middle name_), but the _sheer incompetence_ of the Imperial Palace was just, plainly said, _insulting_ for any Hyuga – Branch or Main or _both_.

The "organization" of the ruling Sarutobi Clan _paled_ in comparison to the Hyuga's vast and complex administration, and every time her sister sent her to the Palace, she always felt that sickeningly need to overthrow the Empress and just redo _everything_ and make it_ right for once_.

She wasn't stupid, of course. She understood that the Hyuga had not always been so organized, but then again, there had hardly been a time in the Hyuga's history where it had been as ineffectual as the Imperial Palace. There were many policies and issues that were not covered in the Imperial Mandate, and there wasn't enough flexibility within the contracts and rules to allow the accommodations of new and upcoming problems of the empire – made almost self-destructive when dealing with foreign affairs.

Fortunately, she mused, Suna was a patient ally, otherwise the devastating stalling of the spice-and-wine trade would have ended up in a civil war.

The carriage stopped and she closed her eyes at the scent of peonies floating in from the tiny sliver of window she had opened hours before. Taking the long canvas bag into her lap, she waited for the servants to open the carriage door and offer their hands before she descended gracefully onto the well-swept, well-kept, and perfectly immaculate front steps of the Hyuga House.

Nothing said "perfection," "efficiency" and "organized" like the Hyuga.

Home sweet home, she mused with a bit of humour.

"Lady Hanabi," the Housekeeper addressed respectfully with a deep bow. "Welcome home."

Hanabi gave a brief, proficient nod. "The sun rises and sets gently."

The Housekeeper bowed again, and then began to lead her to the Lady Hyuga's office. It was more of a formality than anything else, in particular when she knew where everything was in the House – Branch or Main. But she felt relieved for the formality, for the order that was the Hyuga, for everything in the Imperial Palace had seemed so mismatched that it had sent her head rolling in (controlled) agitation.

It felt good, then, when she finally crossed the large threshold into the Hyuga House. The familiarity of the clean and immaculate corridors, and the open eaves and hallways to allow airflow was like a hot flame burning the inauspicious and stink off of her. From what she knew (and she knew a lot), the Hyuga had not always been so orderly and efficient. With each generation, with each new Head of the Hyuga Clan, the effectiveness of the Hyuga, and the strength and reach of the Hyuga, had been expanded at a speedy and unobstructed rate many clans envied and wanted a piece of.

It had been through her sister, she was proud to know and lord over others, that had made the Hyuga at its most perfect form. Many have said that it could not be any more perfect than now, and, after returning from _another_ visit to the Imperial Palace and many meetings with other prominent Konoha clans, Hanabi believed it to be true.

She shifted the canvas bag on her back, feeling uneasy about the weight she now carried. It was not so much as it was heavy, but it was _heavy_ at its implication. She could not remember the last time such a thing was placed before her sister's eyes.

Hanabi did not frown, even if she wanted to. There was no need to trouble the House by her being upset or suspicious. It was best to put on a mask until she was away from prying (Byakugan) eyes. It would do no good to upset their father. He had gone through much since the death of their mother.

The Ten Years War had been trying for the Hyuga in more ways than one.

The Housekeeper paused briefly to knock on the double doors twice, according the Hyuga procedure, and then opened the doors for Hanabi. The subtle whiff of cinnamon and rain and peonies almost caught her off-guard, almost caused her reveal the smile she had inside her heart for the servants to see.

"Hanabi," the Head of the Hyuga called with that warm smile of hers, unguarded because she had nothing to live up to.

Hanabi entered the office and, once the doors were closed, she touched her knees to the ground and pressed her forehead to the wooden boards. "The sun rises and sets gently, Lady Hyuga."

Her sister smiled and returned, "The sun rises and sets gently."

Hanabi rose and nodded her greetings to the Triple Threat, who nodded in return.

"Did your journey go well?" Hinata enquired, patiently pouring a cup of tea for her sister.

"Like the previous journeys. Yes," Hanabi replied neutrally, hiding her fatigue well and was more than just a little grateful when her sister placed the warm tea in her hands.

Jasmine. Like their mother.

She sat back as the tea washed away the dirt and dust of her travels from her throat, a warm elixir that promised to purge the pollution of outsiders to allow the Hyuga to settle into her bones once again. It was a _relieving_ feeling, the feeling of returning and stability. She had missed the quiet times in the Hyuga. The Imperial Court had been too much noise, too much gossip, too much of whispers and murmurs. The Hyuga were quiet.

"Father will be free for dinner tonight," Hinata told her.

Hanabi let herself smile then. It was not rare for their father to dine with them, but it was good to know that he would be able to tonight. Her grip on the canvas bag tightened. A family dinner would allow for some stability for what she was going to (unwilling and hatefully) impose on her sister. She cursed the Empress in her mind, but understood her duties to Konoha, both as a Konoha ninja and a Hyuga.

"That is good to hear," she finally answered.

Her cousin, observing that something was abnormal, spoke, "Has there been any irregularities at Court?"

Hanabi shook her head. "All is how I had left it last month. In truth, things have improved... _surprisingly enough_." She ignored the disapproving gaze her sister sent her. "The spice-and-wine trade is now firmly in place, and I have spoken to Prince Gaara concerning our own vineyards, including the contract we had drawn."

"Has he found the terms disagreeable?" Hinata asked.

"On the contrary, he found them advantageous, even _surprising_," Hanabi answered.

"He should," Tenten said with a nod. "We gave them many concessions."

"_Too_ many." Hanabi gave her sister a sharp look.

The Lady Hyuga smiled, passive and benevolent – an enigma. "It was the least that Konoha could do for them."

Indeed, the talks for the spice-and-wine trade allowance had dragged on for years, and had certainly tired Suna more than it had tired Konoha. With Konoha, with her lush forests and fertile pastures, natural resources were easy to come by, but with Suna, with her baking deserts and dry wells, there was not much to be had. For Konoha, she could have done without the trade route, but for Suna, it had been a necessity. Wine may not have been a need in resource, but it would help generate monies and open up trade for other goods.

With Suna being a relatively new ally of Konoha's, the Hyuga did not think it advantageous to make them feel unwelcomed, or even distraught and hateful. A few concessions in the private trade contracts with the Hyuga, and Suna would be hard pressed to leave their alliance with Konoha, would even come to _like_ it, perhaps.

"Yosh!" Lee sounded vigorously with a fist pump. "It is always good to foster long friendships!"

Hinata smiled and Tenten rolled her eyes.

Hanabi coughed, much to Neji's amusement, and continued her report. "On the other hand, there have been suspicious movements among the clans."

At this, Hinata raised a delicate brow. Even _Lee_ grew quiet.

"It seems," Hanabi had observed, "that Kakashi Hatake is in…" and she wrinkled her nose in displeasure, "_pursuit_ of Lady Shizune."

They stilled, disturbed, confused – _suspicious_.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "What are the Uchiha up to?"

Hanabi could give no answer. Every clan knew to keep their secrets to the grave, and the Uchiha was no exception.

"It is strange indeed," Lee admitted, crossing his arms with a thoughtful frown.

Tenten shook her head. "The Uchiha cannot hope to usurp the Uzumaki's position within the Senju Clan."

"But they could," Hinata said.

They threw each other alarming looks.

"As much as the Uzumaki Consort hails from the Senju bloodline, if an ally of the Uchiha is able to become the next Senju Consort…" Hinata let the idea hang like a knotted noose, heavy and dark implications.

"There is more," Hanabi spoke. They turned to her expectantly. "The Uzumaki heir is… _pursuing_ the Lady Senju's apprentice."

"Sakura Haruno," Neji filled in.

Hanabi nodded in confirmation.

"But _why_?" Tenten asked. "_What for_?"

Hanabi looked to her sister for answers, but the Lady Hyuga's gaze was on her desk in deep contemplation. A movement, barely noticeable, and Hanabi caught her sister looking to the beautiful red and white invitation card slipped under the pile of paperwork, discreetly, almost like a peek-a-boo delight. Softly, Hanabi smiled at her sister ill-disguised joy… and _discomfort_.

"Prince Asuma and Lady Kurenai's wedding is ahead of schedule, according to the Minister of Ceremonies," Hanabi injected some joy into the room.

Hinata looked up, a little shocked to having her thoughts being found out, but smiled generously nevertheless. For nine consecutive months now, her sister had been having Hanabi recount the details leading up to her former sensei's wedding. Naturally, Hinata was invited and, naturally, the Lady Hyuga had confirmed her presence being there within a day of getting the invitation.

Hanabi would not say, but Hinata's confirmation had sent the capital city – _the entire country_ – in a much-anticipated and (in Hanabi's mind) _much-too-excited_ stir. Moreover, the Imperial wedding was to take place next month, and the summer season was _the Season_. Every woman, man and child were residing within the capital city to either play court with the Empress and the Imperial Clan, or up all night crowding the city streets participating in festivals and circuses. The noble clans weren't helping either, much to Hanabi's chagrin. The Yamanako, especially, were known for their wild parties of flowery drinks and _even more_ flowery arrangements that spilled off onto the streets.

As much as Hanabi understood that it was her Hyuga duty to attend and see to the Imperial Court once a month… she was beginning to suspect that her sister did not know _exactly what that entailed_. Not only was she to convey the Lady Hyuga's messages to the Empress, but also to negotiate with the Empress on the Lady Hyuga's behalf – _who lived hours away_. She was also responsible for catering to both the indigenous and foreign merchants concerning Hyuga exports and desired imports, and seeing to the relations with the other Konoha clans, even sometimes with foreign clans, such as the Imperial Subaku Clan of Suna. This included, of course, attending those wretched Yamanako masquerades pretending to _enjoy_ the flowery drinks and admire flowery arrangements that spilled off onto the streets.

_Her sister had no idea what she was to face when she accepted Lady Kurenai's wedding invitation_, but Lady Kurenai, from what Hanabi had grasped, was the Lady Hyuga's sensei once and… _even like a mother_. For Hanabi, who had been too young to miss their mother, it was a foreign concept to love an outsider like a mother, but she understood that Lady Kurenai was important to her sister. Thus, Lady Kurenai was, naturally, important to her.

"Did she look alright?" Hinata enquired, eyes shining with earnest glee.

"She is beside herself with joy," Hanabi conceded, exaggerating for her sister's sake.

Hinata sighed happily and leaned back in her seat to collect herself, a private smile on her face. Even Neji softened in her glow; they all found themselves relaxing. If the Lady Hyuga was happy then, naturally, all of the Hyuga were happy too.

Hanabi looked to the canvas bag beside her, and knew that although it may be ill-timed, there was nothing else she could say or do to farther forestall the ill-omened news.

"I _know_, Hanabi," her sister spoke, resting her palms on her desk with a rueful smile on her lips and a guarded glaze to her eyes. "I know what it is."

Hanabi felt her breath stumble at her throat, her grip on the bag's strap knuckle-white.

Hinata laughed softly, tentative, and gave Hanabi a nod. "Show it to me, Hanabi."

Swallowing silently, Hanabi unzipped the lengthy canvas bag and drew out a large golden scroll. She did not have to look to know that the Triple Threat had frozen at the sight of the scroll, not out of its size, but of its implications. Then, forcing herself to be steady and _Hyuga_, Hanabi unfurled the scroll down the length of the Lady Hyuga's desk, revealing the delicate and exquisite calligraphy of the Empress herself – and the red-inked seal of the Imperial Office.

It was an Imperial Summoning Scroll.

_The Lady Hyuga was being called to the Imperial Palace_.

For a moment, no one dared to move, or even to _breathe_, but for the Lady Hyuga, as disoriented as she was by the surprise summoning, she was otherwise undisturbed. With a playful sigh, Hinata leaned back in her seat and let her eyes stray to the green yard outside her office. She was glad that Airi, the Housekeeper, and pulled down the wall of the office so that the room now felt like it was a gazebo outside – a part of the sky and grass.

The summer was still young.

"We will do this quietly," she finally said, enjoying the feel of the sun-wind brushing by.

Neji nodded. "Her Imperial Majesty has given us a week. She wishes for discretion."

"We will have it that you are visiting Lady Kurenai, and will be staying in the capital for her convenience," Tenten strategized.

Hanabi vouched for the idea. "She had asked you to be her Maid of Honour, did she not?"

Hinata blushed, and nodded.

"Hm…" Lee groaned sceptically. "The capital city is in Season right now. We may have to exchange greetings with the other clans, and even schedule for afternoon teas."

"Which means!" Tenten exclaimed with a teasing (and enthusiastic) grin. "We must commission for new outfits to be made."

Hinata almost shrank at the concept, but knew that it would be impossible to avoid. Appearance was everything for the clans, and for the Hyuga it was almost _do or die_.

"There are several talented tailors within the capital," Hanabi spoke, already going over the list of contacts she had stored in her mental files over the years. "We should commission for one or two outfits here, and the majority in the capital. They are more familiar with the fashion and have more resources for increasingly elaborate pieces."

"And outlandish," Hinata mumbled.

Neji smirked. "A Hyuga must _never_ be underdressed."

Hinata pouted. He meant that she had to take one for the team.

"Very well," she said, if not a bit short. "I will confirm the Empress' summon and begin correspondence with Lady Kurenai. Lee." Lee straightened. "You shall make a list of the necessary Clan Heads I am to speak with or visit or both. Neji." Neji nodded. "You are to inform my father of this, and once you return, you will pen the formal letters to the Clan Heads. Tenten, Hanabi." The woman and the girl-child were attentive. "Confer with Airi and see to my wardrobe. That is all. Dismissed."

One word, one command, and the Hyuga Household was set aflame – wild in its mighty ninja, but contained that was the Hyuga. Immediately, butlers saw to the opening of the Hyuga vaults in search of the most exquisite and expensive bejewelled pieces. Maids pulled open the many lacquered wardrobes for the heirloom kimonos, qipaos, foreign dresses, gloves, stockings, fans and shoes that had not seen the light of day for generations. _Children_ gathered the old silver and gold hair pieces, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings, and gave them a good polish.

It did not take long for the clan to understand that their Mistress, their Lady Hyuga, was to _leave the House for the first time in five years_.

And no one – _no one_ – would dare gainsay that their Lady Hyuga was _badly dressed_.

The horror.

xxx

**the point**


	3. Chapter Three

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Three**

There were very few things he hated more than the Season: Naruto (for one) when he was being annoying, Ino when she wanted to get into his pants (and he would rue to deny her, the heir of the Yamanaka Clan), and Lady Anko Mitarashi when she (frequently and sometimes _fanatically_) wanted to get into his pants (and he thanked the Great Goddess every fucking day that the Inuzuka Clan was higher on the figurative totem pole than the Mitarashi).

But then again, the Season _did_ include all three, and sometimes _in the same room_. In which case, he supposed, there really _wasn't_ anything he hated more than _the Season_. Not only did the Season take up the best three months of the year – the _summer_, but Kiba hated the capital city – hated _cities_ altogether, no matter the size or place.

It was the crowds, the smells, the _people_. He didn't give a damn if he had to appear before the Imperial Court for the sake of the Inuzuka Clan; _he didn't even give a damn if it made his mother happy_. All he wanted to do was run around the Inuzuka pastures and scream into the wind and sweat under the sun and roll around in the dirt and go skinny dipping in the nearby river – _and not be confined within the Imperial Palace to make himself appealing for the noble women_, all for the sake of snatching a wife (preferably, as all clans wanted, a Clan Head or heir).

And he didn't understand why he _had _to. It wasn't like the Inuzuka Clan was in a desperate need of an alliance. In fact, there were very few clans the Inuzuka could benefit from. At least the Inuzuka Clan had a _daughter_ to inherit the clan, while most other Great Clans of Konoha _did not_. There was no hurry for him to be married off or to produce pups. Fortunately, for the past _five years_, his mother had understood this and had allowed him to attend the Season at the _end_ of the Season. For the past _five years_, he had not appeared at Court until the end of summer – beginning of fall, and had plenty of the summer to himself to enjoy however he wished.

_Unfortunately_, because of that damned Prince's wedding, he was entitled to attend the Season earlier, as in: _at the beginning of summer_. It was no surprise then that he was more than just a little miffed and a lot of agitated. There just wasn't enough air in the city, enough nature in the Imperial Palace – not enough of the _wild_ and _feral_ for him.

He hated the Season.

"They say that the Lady Hyuga will be arriving today," the Aburame beside him informed. As usual, his tone was fixed and mumbled behind his high collar; a calm exterior that belied the busyness of the kikaichu running rampant through his body. The Season had always called for the Aburame to extend his network too far for the sake of garnering too little information, but information of any kind (especially with the Imperial Palace filled to the brim with both the most petty and prestigious clans across the kingdom) was _information_.

Kiba shrugged, but even he couldn't hide the _zing_ of excitement chorusing through his body. For the past week, news of the Lady Hyuga's _possible_ appearance in the Imperial Court had spread like wildfire throughout the city – _throughout the kingdom_, and every noble clan with any ounce of noble blood (or any _clan_ for that matter who wished very f-ing badly for some noble blood interaction) rushed into the capital city at record speed and overflowing the already overpopulated city to that point where several buildings were already threatening to collapse. Even those old codgers who hadn't been in the capital for _decades_ had reached for their damn walking canes just to confirm such rumours!

And he couldn't _blame_ them either, couldn't blame their greedy need to _see_ her (even if it was a glimpse of her hair), couldn't blame their need to be _near_ her (even if it was to get a whiff of her shawl hanging in the coat racks) because she was, after all, _the Lady fucking Hyuga_.

One would have to be either dense or dead (or _both_) if they did not know who the hell the Lady Hyuga was. Not only was she the one who righted the kingdom's economy after the Ten Years War with a _single contract_ to the Tea Country, but she was the one who _ended the Ten Years War singlehandedly_. It had been an epic battle and any ninja worth her salt had been at the battlefronts. Hell, _Kiba_ had been there – at fifteen, with an uneasy Akamaru and a feral fear of being overcome and cornered. From what he had been told, for many of the Konoha ninja had _not_ been at the exact place as the _epic battle_, the Lady Hyuga (who had not been the Lady Hyuga at the time) had raced onto the battlefield _by herself_ and made specifically for the Raikage – _and the land had seemed to part for her, and time had seemed to have stopped for her_. It had been short. It had been sweet. The prestigious Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and the Raikage was downed by a fifteen-year-old woman-child.

Not only had she been awarded a heroine's triumph within the capital city, but Empress Biwako had placed her within the High Council a week later. A month later and she had been inaugurated as the Head of the Hyuga Clan, finally retiring her father who had been Regent for the better part of the Ten Years War. The Hyuga, in the aftermath of the war, had been awarded untold riches and land, and unbreakable alliances within _and_ outside the kingdom, and they became one of the most powerful clans in several kingdoms, more so than _before_ the Ten Years War. Some had even said that the Hyuga Clan now rivalled the Imperial Sarutobi Clan, but the Lady Hyuga was much too noble and too compassionate to challenge the teetering Imperial Clan for Konoha's throne.

_Compassionate_. That was how they had described the Lady Hyuga. _Compassionate_. Kiba had never heard of _any_ Hyuga as being described as _compassionate_, but the Lady Hyuga was every bit of her surprising. She was also, according to many rumours, _kind_ and _merciful_ and _soft_. She was unlike any other Hyuga ever known or heard of. _She was one-of-a-kind_.

A Legend.

A Living Legend.

People spoke her name in hushed reverence.

"_Hinata Hyuga_."

People prayed to her for daughters.

"_Hinata Hyuga."_

People tried to describe her in terms of being "human," but just couldn't… quite… manage it.

"_Hinata Hyuga."_

Kiba wouldn't have believed it if his mother and sister hadn't attested to the Hyuga's character and honour. Not only was his mother _fond_ of the girl, but had actually felt more _secure _in her position as the Matriarch of the Inuzuka Clan after meeting her. Hana, in the same vein, knew that her future ascension as the next Inuzuka Clan Head would go unattested as long as the Lady Hyuga was her firm ally.

Glancing at Shino, Kiba knew that the Aburame would have his work cut out for him. Even if their three clans – Hyuga, Inuzuka and Aburame – were traditional allies, strong and undisputed, the fact that the Aburame had no daughter to inherit was rather precarious for their alliance. Shino's father's, the Lord Regent Aburame's, position had been shaky at best when he had failed to produce a daughter with the then Lady Aburame, but with the Lady Aburame's demise shortly thereafter…

Fortunately Kiba's mother and the former Lady Hyuga (the mother of the current) had stood steadfast by the Lord Regent Aburame's side. And so far, much to their Triple Alliance's (more commonly known as the "Tracking Alliance") relief, the current Lady Hyuga was also willing to sponsor the Aburame's Main Family, most likely in support of the deceased Lady Aburame's bloodline within Shino. There was a good chance of Shino producing a daughter in a few years, after all. However, this could change if she was to find the (male) heir wanting, and Shino was under duress by the other members of his clan, and even the watchful eyes of the rivalling clans, to impress the young Hyuga.

And she was _young_. Kiba understood that she was in his age group – twenty. She was twenty. She had defeated the Raikage and Kumo simultaneously _five years ago_ when she was just _fifteen years old_. The fact that she was _young_ and _unmarried_ was frightening for many of the clans, and even _exciting_ for them. Every Tom, Dick and Harry was going to be either _told_ to seduce her, or would genuinely _want_ to seduce her.

To be the _Hyuga Consort_ to _the_ Lady Hinata Hyuga of the _Hyuga Clan_?

HELL, YES!

There was none more sought after than the Lady Hyuga, and Kiba was thankful that he had no plans or ideas of marriage any time soon. He understood, of course, why everyone was so anxious to see her – why so many eligible bachelors would want to catch a glimpse of her – why the city streets had been lined up since midnight _last night_ just to watch (in admirable silence) her carriage go by.

_Because the Lady Hyuga had not been seen in public for five years_.

After the Ten Years War, it was like she had disappeared. They knew that she was alive because several of the Great Konoha Clan Heads had paid her visits, mostly to ensure that their alliances were still intact… and whether or not she would like to marry their sons… If not for the Empress' correspondence with the Lady Hyuga on an almost daily basis, Konoha would have believed the Lady Hyuga had died… and then would promptly construct several shrines in her honour and worship her as a goddess.

It was a relief that none of that had happened so far, because Kiba _did_ want to see the Lady Hyuga, even at a distance… Perhaps even _preferably_ at a distance. She may overwhelm him with her presence, or strike him dead for one wrong look, or be trampled by her damn fanboys (and fangirls). Kiba just wanted a look – to confirm that she was real – to know that in this world such a person could and _did_ exist.

Just one look.

It wasn't like he was asking for the world and all the inhabitants in it.

Just her.

Or perhaps he was asking for too much, after all?

"Hey, _bastard_!" Naruto growled from one side of the small courtyard.

The small crowd of men and boys turned their heads from the Uzumaki to the other side of the courtyard, a great number of eyes landing on the Uchiha. It was the normal exchange of words and threats.

"_Idiot_," Sasuke returned easily with a smirk.

Kiba was just glad that Naruto wasn't targeting _him_ that morning. He didn't want to cause trouble on the day the Lady Hyuga was to, supposedly, arrive.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled to Kiba's left, leaning against the wall with his friend Choji.

Mildly, Kiba was relieved that the Tracking Alliance was not like the Reconnaissance Alliance (the Ino-Shika-Cho Alliance). With the Tracking Alliance, two of their clans stood firm with their female offspring, whereas only the Yamanaka had a _single_ female offspring. The Nara and the Akimichi would want the Lady Hyuga's benevolence, just like the other clans.

Kiba had barely a moment to move when Naruto came crashing towards him. Fortunately Akamaru was there to shove him aside just as Naruto impacted the column he had been standing in front of. Pushing himself up from the ground, he looked to his damn expensive shirt and saw the back grass-stained and his pants dirt-grimed.

"Damn it, Naruto!" he growled, standing at once. "You know how _expensive_ this shirt is?"

Naruto had the decency to smile sheepishly and bow his head apologetically. "Sorry, Kiba, but it was _Sasuke's_ fault."

"Idiot," Sasuke derided almost offhandedly. "_You_ were the one to challenge _an Uchiha_."

Kiba rolled his eyes. With the Main Family sporting two males, the _Uchiha_ had nothing to brag about. They could be strong as hell (Kiba gave them _some_ credit), but the Uchiha were a cursed clan and _paled_ in comparison to the Hyuga. He really wished sometimes to beat the shit out of the Uchiha _Spare_ for his uppity attitude. _He had nothing to brag about_.

"_Screw you_, bastard," Naruto fumed. "_Uzumaki_ for the win!"

Kiba almost – _almost_ – groaned at the blond's incompetence. Whereas the Uchiha had two sons, they at least had _two_. The Uzumaki had _one_, and he was the only child, and Naruto wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the package. In fact, he barely gave a wink in the night.

"It doesn't matter." Prince Konohamaru stepped into the courtyard with a smartass nose in the air. "None of you can compare to the Hyuga anyway."

It was no secret that Prince Konohamaru and Lady Hanabi, the Spare of the Hyuga Clan, were "secret" lovers. The fact that he boasted of the Hyuga and not of his own Imperial Clan, the Sarutobi, proved just how loyal he was to the Hyuga already. _And there had been no move on the Hyuga's part to court him officially_. It may have been a slap in the face for the Sarutobi Clan, but Prince Konoharmaru wasn't complaining so Kiba assumed that the fucking was _just that good_.

Uchiha tensed and his Sharingan spun unconsciously at the insult, but Uzumaki merely brushed it off with a shrug.

"Hey, hey, bastard," Naruto suggested slyly. "How about we see who can get the Lady Hyuga's favour first, huh?"

Kiba was insulted at the proposal, and he could feel Shino stiffen behind him. The Tracking Alliance would go to Hell and back again to defend each other's honour. One did not insult the Hyuga in front of the Inuzuka or the Aburame, and vice versa. The Uzumaki was treading on dangerous territory.

Choji blinked, stopping momentarily from eating his chips. "I thought you liked Lady Sakura, Naruto."

Naruto faltered and Shikamaru couldn't help but curl his lips in disgust. It was not gentleman-like to throw oneself at a passing noble lady, but to be honourable, strong and loyal to attract the right mate. It was the woman's right to choose, and the man's right to be patient and to better himself. The women did the courting, not the other way around, but Naruto had never been one to oblige the rules.

"That's okay!" Naruto chirped. "I'm gonna marry Sakura, but that doesn't mean I can't be friends with Hin-"

"_The Lady Hyuga_," Shino cut in before the Uzumaki could insult the Hyuga any farther. "Mind your manners, Uzumaki."

"What's your deal?" Naruto questioned, confused. "I know you guys are in the Tracking Alliance, but we're the Three Powerhouses."

"It's _not_ the same," Kiba spat and Akamaru growled.

Shikamaru agreed. "The Powerhouses are Powerhouses because of the individual powers of the Hyuga, Uzumaki and Uchiha – you are not united otherwise. The _Alliances_ are the Alliances because we _choose_ to be together. There is more rift between the Powerhouses, seen most prominently through the conflict between you and Sasuke. You do not see Kiba and Shino beating each other up, or Choji and I crashing through the Imperial Palace walls, do you?"

Naruto huffed and Prince Konohamaru snickered. "That's cause Sasuke and I are _rivals_. We both know that we love each other-"

"I _do not_ love you, Uzumaki," Sasuke hissed. "I don't even _like_ you."

"_Bastard_," Naruto growled. "You _do_ like me. You're just too much of a coward to admit it!"

"_Coward_?" Sasuke's Sharingan spun rapidly.

"Eeh? What do we have here?" Suigetsu commented with a playful swing of his Decapitating Carving Knife. Jugo was just a little ways behind the sword master. "Is _Sasuke_ getting his ass kicked… _again_?" He chuckled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Shino was quick to draw Kiba back. As much as Suigetsu and Jugo were a part of the Uchiha's ninja team and, indeed, resided _with_ and were _indebted_ to the Uchiha, Suigetsu had no qualms in trying to take the Uchiha Spare's head without former warning or ill-disguised glee. There was some sick companionship between the two that no one could really grasp except for, perhaps, the quiet Jugo.

"_No_, Suigetsu," Naruto whined. "This time it's just _me_ and Sasuke!" Then he flashed a self-important grin. "You can have whatever remains of him _after_ I'm finished with him."

"You wish, _Uzumaki_," Suigetsu sneered. "You can't even beat me! What makes you think can beat _him_?"

"Oh yeah?" Naruto shouted, his eyes bleeding with the Kyubi. "Let's go, asshole!"

Suigetsu's face split open with a chilling grin. "Let's go, _Mama's Boy_."

The courtyard suddenly upended – the Kyubi's claws against Suigetsu's huge-ass sword. No one was given the time to think or run or defend, and several brickwork in the Palace walls had already fallen; the trees irreparable. Kiba wasn't going to lie and say that Naruto wasn't powerful. Hell, between him and Sasuke, they could probably carve the damn wide earth in two – one half full of ramen for Naruto, and the other of cherry tomatoes (of all f-ing things) for Sasuke.

From his peripheral vision, he saw that Shikamaru was leading the Prince back into the safety of the Palace; Choji watching their back. Shino's kikaichu was spinning around them to eat up the access (and destructive) demon chakra that had "accidentally" spilled forth from the blond jinchuriki.

"Fuck," Kiba cursed.

Shino nodded in acquiesce. "We must stop them before the Emperor decides to intervene."

"_Fuck_," Kiba cursed again. The Emperor foresaw to the men during the Season, and damned would they be if they were found destroying the _Imperial Palace_… _again_. "Damn it, Naruto! Such a fucking _idiot_."

He had to perform the Four Legs Technique just to counter the sudden wave of chaotic red chakra from Naruto. Feral. Wild. _Animalistic_. Kiba's vision heightened threefold and he felt the world warp around him, as if he were a part of the wind and sun and sky and-

A slight mistaken step on Naruto's part and-

Kiba launched forward, ducking below Suigetsu's broad swing to tackle Naruto into the Palace courtyard wall, firmly pressing the damn jinchuriki into the crevice their impact had made. Vaguely, he wondered if his mother would have to pay for the damage, but the ferociousness of the Kyubi was more troubling and he was forced to push all thought aside just to hold the Uzumaki down. As much as his inner-canine wanted to turn tail and run from this greater predator, the _human_ side of him – the _logic_ side of him told him to hold him down a little longer until reinforcements arrived.

He was just glad Naruto hadn't turned all damn _Sage_ on him.

"What the HELL is going on?" Sakura's timely screech all but put a stop to everything.

Kiba waited until Naruto's rage receded before stepping back and giving the Uzumaki room to breathe and recoup. Honestly, he didn't ever think he'd be glad to hear Sakura's voice, but that was almost a Goddess-sent. Looking behind him, he saw that Shino had incapacitated Suigetsu, or appeared to judging from the thick black swarm revolving around the Hozuki lying on the ground.

One quick look, and Sakura was _fuming mad_ and red in the face, hollering, "NARUTO! WHAT DID YOU DO NOW?"

Naruto flinched, and then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "S-Sakura… You see…"

Sasuke snorted. "The idiot decided to kill me again."

Sakura's eyes looked ready to fall out of their sockets. "WHAT?"

"Nonono!" Naruto hurriedly tried to salvage his honour, shooting Sasuke a glare in the process.

Really, Kiba decided, the Uchiha was such a prick. If there was anyone that could _really_ stop Naruto, it would have been Sasuke, and he could have stopped it before Suigetsu had started calling Naruto immature names. And, of course, Sakura was going to side with Sasuke… _again_. The love triangle was getting tiring, and there would never be results until _someone_ decided to _give_.

"Now, now, Sakura," Ino attempted to soothe.

Kiba's brow twitched. He shouldn't be surprised. Lady Ino and Sakura were best friends and were hardly seen apart, but he had hoped (of all hopeless hopes) that he would not be seeing her that day, much less _that morning_.

Accidentally catching her eye, Kiba pretended not to notice when she gave him a saucy wink. In all honesty, he _did_ enjoy their time together in bed, _but that was all_. Anything outside was not very appetizing, and even if he tried (and he _had_ tried) to stop the sexual escapades… She was not going to give up on him until he was taken. And he couldn't deny her. A man could _not_ deny a woman.

"Damn it," he swore under his breath, wiping the dirt from his face. The courtyard was in ruins for the third time that week. Emperor Hiruzen was_ not_ going to be happy.

"What are we going to do, Ino?" Sakura sounded desperately.

"Get it fixed, duh," Suigetsu insulted, finally able to stand after Shino called his colony back.

"That's not what I mean!" Sakura fumed. "How are supposed to get this fixed _in time_?"

"'In time?'" Naruto voiced curiously, confused.

Sakura huffed, but it was Ino who explained, and quite frazzled now too. "The Lady Hyuga _just_ entered the Palace. What's gonna happen when she _sees_ this?"

The courtyard froze and they all looked wide-eyed with Holy-Shit expressions. Everyone wanted to give the Lady Hyuga a good first impression of themselves for the sake of themselves and their clans, and although Sakura and _Lady_ Ino wouldn't have to try hard to present themselves well, for the males… it would be a different story altogether. It would not do well to dishonour their clans.

"What am I going to say to Lady Tsunade?" Sakura whined to her blonde friend.

Ino gave her a sympathetic look. "I know you promised her to watch _Naruto_," she shot Naruto a glare, who shifted uncomfortably, "but your priority is to the _Senju_ Clan, _not_ the Uzumaki. So you better clean up and be there with the Lady Senju when she greets the Lady Hyuga, or you're gonna be in deeper shit."

"Shit." Kiba pulled the grass from his shirt and rushed into the Palace to take a quick bath.

As if his quick action was genius, the crowd in the courtyard quickly dispersed to clean themselves up too and to get something nice to wear. For Kiba, he was especially distraught, especially when Akamaru was covered in earth and mud and was going to need a lot more than just a "quick bath" to be presentable. This made the decision for him. He was _only_ going to lay eyes on the Lady Hyuga _from afar_. He was now too embarassed to stand by his mother and sister to greet her.

_He was ruined_!

"Damn, damn, fuck, fuck, damn," he chanted obscenely, running down the hall and turning the corner-

"Oh!" a small feminine voice squeaked.

And really, Kiba tired (and failed) to back up, but he had forgotten that Akamaru was running just behind him and, even as he took a step back… his nin-dog just had to _bump_ into him and he, in turn, bumped into _her_ and, naturally, he accidentally… _pushed her to the ground _and,like dominos, _he fell on top of her_!

THE HORROR!

"Shit!" he cursed, barely having time to register that he had collided with a _woman_ (and no doubt a _noble lady_) or even getting a good look at her before rushing back onto his feet and bowed low. "F-Forgive me, my lady. It was most impertinent of me to-"

"It's alright," the delicate voice chimed, calm and merciful – _blessedly merciful_ (in Kiba's mind). "Do you know where the Throne Room is?"

"Yes!" Kiba answered emphatically, too ashamed to lift himself from the bow. He didn't even notice the way Akamaru had taken a respectful step back and dipping his head every now and then. "Down the hall, to the right, and then another hall, to the left, and then up the stairs, to the right, and then-"

"I see…" the woman mused, finding his "explanation" humorous. "The Palace has certainly changed throughout these years. It is like a maze now, isn't it?"

Kiba didn't know how to reply, sweat dripping down his chin from his earlier excursion and jerky nerves from crashing into a lady. He only hoped that she would not report this… _undisciplined behaviour_ to his mother. He _really_ didn't want to get lectured again.

"You..." she trailed, perturbed by his action, "may stand, if you wish."

"Y-Yes!" he burst, quickly snapping up straight, sending specks of dirt and twigs falling to the ground.

But he didn't twitch. He didn't feel ashamed. _He couldn't even breathe_ because there was a _Hyuga_ in front of him. His first thought was that she was going to kill him for his earlier transgression. And then she was going to tell his mother so that she could kill him even farther. He was a dead, _dead_ man.

"An Inuzuka?" she enquired, tilting her head to one side to get a better look of him.

"Y-Yes…" he answered obediently, his throat dry.

She smiled then – _smiled_, and he was momentarily thrown by this action.

The only Hyuga who Kiba had met (very briefly) had been Lady Hanabi, and her guards and servants, and he had assumed that all Hyuga were like Lady Hanabi, and her guards and servants. Cold. Merciless. Uptight. Impenetrable. _Undefeatable_. He did not think, even in his wildest dreams, that a Hyuga could be so…

Open. Unguarded. Kind. Soft. _Perfect_.

She wasn't a great beauty (in Hyuga terms), but she didn't need to be. She wasn't dressed in the finest robes, but she didn't need to be. She wasn't wearing the most expensive jewelleries, but she didn't need to be. She didn't have to be _anything_ because her very presence seemed to convey that there was nothing she had to compare herself to, or live up to, because she was already perfection itself and she could be wearing a burlap sack with dirt all over her face and limbs – _and she would still be perfect_.

It was in the way she projected herself.

_She was untouchable_.

"Lord Kiba Inuzuka, yes?" she enquired patiently with that calming smile of hers.

"Yes," he answered, finding himself relaxing too. Then he scrunched his face up. "How did you know?" And as if he suddenly realized that he was being rude, he added, "If I may enquire, milady."

The Hyuga giggled and it was the _strangest_ sound he had ever heard, as if "giggling" and "Hyuga" did not compute… and yet such a feat was happening _right in front of him_. He was confused and disoriented, and just didn't know _what_ to think.

"Your mother, the Lady Inuzuka, has shown me a picture of you," she answered naturally.

"Oh," he sounded dumbly, feeling quite disconnected.

"Thank you for your help, Lord Kiba," she said with a small polite bow.

"O-Oh!" He was startled yet again by her actions and quickly gave a low bow at the waist. "Y-You're welcome!"

He dared not straighten until she moved passed him and down the hall, leaving a whiff of peonies in her wake and securing his fate that he was not _yet_ a dead man. Breathing a sigh of relief, an action Akamaru mimicked, Kiba stood and thought it lucky of him for not (literally) colliding with a cold Hyuga and therefore (may) jeopardize the Tracking Alliance. His mother _and_ sister would have _destroyed _him if that had happened.

"Lady Hyuga," a deep male voice addressed from behind.

Kiba stilled, breath growing shallow and heart fast. It couldn't have been… _She_ couldn't have been… That was to say, Kiba faltered, the chances of her being… It just wasn't possible! But then again, he thought horrifyingly, it was _not _impossible that she could be…

Slowly, very slowly, Kiba turned and-

It was like someone had punched him in the stomach, or _Juken_ him as this situation would have called for.

There she was, little miss not-Hyuga, standing above a kneeling Hyuga male with that benevolent smile of hers…

And dangling from her belt was a white jade pendant – _the Head of the Hyuga crest_.

Shit.

He was a dead, dead – _triple dead_ – man.

xxx

**the point**


	4. Chapter Four

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Four**

The Throne Room was an impressive, and daunting, sight. It was a room of red draperies and ruby columns, and gold embellishments and bullion candelabras. The high ceiling, made even more elaborate by the gold-and-white medallions, seemed to span the whole sky and gleam like silver clouds in the day, weigh like a thousand mighty suns. The windows, paned delicately and opened to the balconies, let the sunlight stream in like golden rivers across the marble floors and walls. The double doors, painted red with gold detailed braiding, were like a burning star of ruby lips and hot desire.

On either side of the throne room, the great nobles of Konoha stood in their best kimonos, most elaborate qipaos, and most exquisite ball gowns; adorned by their best Consorts, their most fancy fiancées, and their most handsome escorts. Rubies and sapphires, emeralds and diamonds – fans constructed from peacock feathers, swans, the best cherry oak, mahogany – gloves of satin and velvet – pendants carved with their clan crests prominent for all to see.

It was like a wildfire of illustrious colour, of hot red and inferno blue, made even headier through the thick anticipation in the air, of the whispered expectations, of the hope that it was true, so true – of seeing _her_, _finally_ after _five years_. It was a day that would be put into the history books and remembered, if not fondly, then certainly with excitement.

Amidst this fiery sun of nerves, the Empress presided over them with the calm of heated coals; the Emperor certainly amused at her right side. The Imperial Sarutobi Clan stood around her, on the dais raised a good five feet from the ground. None could remember a time when the Imperial Court was this anxious, this high-strung, this complete personification of the "Will of Fire," for such a solar system could not exist without a _moon_.

And when the doors opened, jet red and sun fire, the Throne Room became dead silent; the sun suspended in the sky and the wind a soft whisper of wishes come true. For a moment, no one dared to move, no one dared to breathe or think, and there were several gentlemen who felt their knees weaken at the sight, the ladies humbled in their guest's presence.

Empress Biwako merely met her in the eye and smiled.

When she stepped into the room, everything _paled_ in comparison to her. The red and gold bled dry in her black and white. The overdone gowns and dress muted in her grey shirt and blue jeans. The highly coiffed hair of pins and jewels waned in her high ponytail. The overdone faces and paints shrunk in her natural complexion. The sun and the day shadowed in her moon and night. It was not a feeling the Imperial Court was familiar with. It was not like the fire and the passion and the burning. It was like the water and the calm and the soothing.

She was the moon to their sun, they came to recognize as she made her way forward to the dais, her leather knee-high boots a sharp _click, click_ in their soundless solar system.

And she was not a breathless beauty either, but her Hyuga blood certainly made it that she was not ugly. No, it was not her appearance that made their breath catch and their heart paralyze at the want of stopping time so that the moment – _this_ moment – could last forever. It was her _presence_ that made her hard to look at, like a solar eclipse, like a new moon that could not be seen but felt. It was in the way she had walked in and knelt to their Empress that made them realize that none could compare to her, that even in her action of submission, she was not in any way, shape or form subpar to the Imperial Clan, or to the sun altogether.

She was _everything_ and _nothing_ like they had expected.

"The sun shines bright, Your Imperial Majesty," she spoke formally.

Gentle, quiet, like the wind in the night, like the dragonfly skirting the pond, she was subtle grace and sublime grey.

"The sun shines bright, Lady Hyuga," the Empress returned fondly. "You may rise."

And when she rose, oh when she rose, it was like a wave curling onto the beach and the whole Imperial Court startled awake from their thoughts. All at once, they became animated, shocked and surprised, _breathless_ and _soulful_.

They spoke her name in hushed reverence.

"_Hinata Hyuga_."

They took in her state of dress with admiration.

"_Hinata Hyuga."_

They tried to describe that sense of wonder they felt at the sight of her and couldn't… quite… manage to do so.

"_Hinata Hyuga."_

And they were all cut short, much too short, when the Empress spoke, "Lady Hyuga, I have not seen you in so long. May I suggest that we retire privately for tea?"

The Lady Hyuga bowed and acquiesced. "By the Empress' orders."

The Empress nodded. "Good."

And the Imperial Court was left to flutter aimlessly about themselves, having no idea as to how to respond when the very woman who had caught them so soundlessly off-guard was so hurriedly whisked away in a blink of an eye. It was like they had had hardly any time to catch their breaths before they had to find it again. Like the waxing moon, in a wink, and the subtle beauty was gone.

_Five years_, and they were left only with the scent of peonies in the air.

The commotion spread through the kingdom in a sun-flash.

xxx

The Palace had changed over the years, Hinata noted as she stood by the window. From the fifth floor of the Empress' private chambers, she could pick out the white peonies in the Imperial garden, amid all the roses and lilies and hydrangeas. They appeared like white dots, a sparse sprinkling of colours in a large backdrop of green and brown, but with the Byakugan the Head of the Hyuga could surmise (and with great accuracy too) that they had been blooming for the better part of the week. She _would not_ say that the Hyuga peonies had been blooming steadily for the past two weeks.

"They are not as resilient as the Hyuga peonies," the Empress admitted.

Hinata turned to her and smiled mildly, not at all disconcerted that the Empress had seen through her, but rather delighted to have it so. Even after all these years… Hinata chuckled to herself. Even after all these years, there were still some things that would never change. Like, for example, the way Empress Biwako stared shrewdly at the teapot settled oh-so-carefully on top of the flame, waiting for the perfect time to pass and the perfect temperature to be met for the perfect cup of tea.

"Jasmine," the Empress commented. "Your mother's favourite."

"Yes," Hinata said softly. She knew.

Unbuckling the Hyuga Clan Sword from her belt, she settled onto the opposite side of the table from the Empress and set the sword against the nearest chair. With the glass doors opened to the outside, the smell of summer grass mixing in with the warm tealeaves soothed her frayed nerves. Yes, the Palace had changed over the years. She did not remember the Imperial Court being as anxious or tightly wound with excitement and anticipation. The last she had been in the capital, it had been not so subdued – the energy had not been silent or restrained. Although, she supposed, a heroine's triumph was not made to be suppressed or quiet.

"They had been waiting for you," the Empress said.

Hinata was confused by her comment, and did well to hide it by reaching for the teapot and pouring them each a cup of tea.

The Empress took hers placidly and explained, "These past five years you have not been seen, and have barely been heard from. You are a heroine of Konoha, Hinata. A Living Legend." The Hyuga blushed. "You do not know how many have dreamt of the day of meeting you. Of course the whole capital is rife with anticipation and unrest. You are like royalty here."

Hinata frowned. "I could never-"

"Yes, I know," the Empress said patiently, and then gave her a smile that showed that she was not upset. "But you understand, yes? That you are an idol in the kingdom. Even abroad in some cases."

Hinata bit her lips together uncertainly.

"I know for a fact that the Empress Temari of Suna would go out of her way just to meet with you," the Empress informed, taking a sip of her tea.

Hinata sighed and almost – _almost_ – slumped back against her chair. She was not ignorant. In fact, she would not be a _Hyuga_ if she did not know or understand the… _strange_ _veneration_ around her person and name and reputation. She _knew_ that some mothers prayed in her name for daughters, for instance. It had started five years ago, and she had assumed that if she were to seclude herself from the public then the fanaticism would deter. She had miscalculated – _obviously_ if her observations from earlier were of any indication. What had been the supposed common formalities of greeting the Empress during the Season… turned to an almost worshipful silence of a holy shrine.

It was _chilling_ almost.

"You had no troubles in your journey here, yes?" the Empress enquired.

"It was an uneventful journey," Hinata confirmed.

"And you were well received at the city gates?"

"Yes."

"And the Palace gates?"

"Yes."

"And yet you had taken almost an hour to get from my front door to my Throne Room because…?" The Empress raised a sceptical brow.

Hinata smiled. "We were early. I had thought to explore a bit…"

The Empress frowned. "And none have offered you a tour?"

Hinata did not know what to say. She _would not_ say that the Palace seemed short staffed. She _would not_ say that the Palace seemed disorganized. She _would not _say that the Palace seemed more like of a burden for the Imperial Clan than an actual aid. And she _would not_ say that the Hyuga _was not_ short staffed or disorganized or a burden. Hinata had made sure years ago that nothing – _nothing_ – in the Hyuga would or even _could_ slow down progress and her timely goals.

The Hyuga was perfect.

"We _are_ short staffed." Empress Biwako saw through her like the first time they had met, decades ago when she was but a small child wanting a truffle her mother hadn't noticed. Hinata could still remember, as clear as day, when the Empress had plucked a beautifully golden-wrapped white chocolate truffle from the table and placed it into her hands with a knowing smile. She felt like that child again, except there was no treat. "We _are _disorganized. And we _are_ burdened – _continuously_."

Hinata's grip on her teacup tightened, the only outward appearance she allowed to show her discomfort. Only a handful of people could render her small, and the Empress was one of them. "Do you wish for me to reorg-"

"No," the Empress said sharply, _too_ sharply.

Hinata drained her cup and poured herself another to fill in the silence.

The Empress sighed, and Hinata was startled to hear the woman's _age_ in her sigh. Tired and fatigued, the Empress Biwako smiled thinly and explained, "I have been wanting to summon you for some time now, Hinata."

Hinata nodded attentively, if not a little troubled.

"The issue lies, of course, within _Root_." The Empress did not need to say anymore, leaving the word to hand in the air like the waiting guillotine.

Root: the specialized subdivision of the ANBU. ANBU: Konoha's group of the best of the very best ninjas, including worthy jonin, chunin and (sometimes and very rarely) genin. It would not be so much of an issue since all ninja, no matter where they fell upon the three hierarchal levels of proficiency and skill of the ninja, were loyal to the Imperial Crown. _However_, Root operated on a whole other system. All Root members were loyal to one man, and one man only.

"_Danzo Shimura_." Hinata clenched her teeth. "He has yet to toss aside his lofty goals, has he?"

The Empress cast a grim eye over the Lady Hyuga. "Indeed. The Palace is almost in ruin from his workings."

Hinata nodded. It would explain the unworthy Imperial staff. She was _horrified_ in the knowledge that her Empress was living in such conditions. She had not become _the_ Lady Hyuga so that her sovereign and country would suffer from bad staffing and even worst ministers. Contrary to Hanabi's belief, Hinata _did_ peruse the Imperial trading contracts every now and then, and she had found them most wanting and, even at points, _disgusting_.

She _would not_ say that the Hyuga would do better.

"I would use the Hyuga," the Empress sighed, "if it did not cause a rift among the Powerhouses."

Hinata conceded to such a point. The Empress mustn't favour one over the other, or rather favour the Hyuga any further. There was a balance to be kept, made even more unsteady by the Uzumaki and Uchiha lacking in female heirs. Konoha's situation was rocky and…

She caught the Empress in the eye and they understood that the Imperial Clan was in no better condition than the Uzumaki and Uchiha.

"I am hoping that the union between my son and Lady Kurenai will bring about a sense of security in the Imperial Palace," the Empress confessed.

Hinata agreed. "Lady Kurenai is one of the best genjutsu specialists we have."

"How my stupid son was able to get her attention is beyond me," the Empress huffed with a roll of her eyes.

Hinata smiled. "Perhaps the union will bring about…"

She did not wish to jinx the chances by speaking of it, but the Empress nodded, understanding what she meant. With the Empress' eldest daughter-in-law unable to bear any further children after Prince Konohamaru, the hopes of a Crown Princess now lied with Prince Asuma and the-soon-to-be Princess Kurenai. That was not to say that Prince Konohamaru would devastate the land, but a Princess was always preferred if given the choice…

"There is another reason why I have called you here," the Empress said.

Hinata looked to her attentively.

"It seems that my grandson have been visiting the bed of your sister," the Empress voiced.

Hinata pursed her lips and bowed her head. Again, she was not ignorant. The servants who had been sent alongside Hanabi on her monthly trips to the capital had informed Hinata of such… indiscretions. Normally, it would be waived off. _However_, her sister was not bedding a normal man-child, but a _Prince_. Hinata wished she could give the Empress some news of, perhaps, a formal Courting Ritual, but her sister had yet to come to her, and she did not want to push Hanabi away by suggesting it herself…

"Your sister can continue her play," the Empress brushed it off. "Prince Konohamaru has yet to complain. I can only hope that my grandson is doing right by your sister in their time together. Nothing irks me more than a man unable to perform-"

"Your Imperial Majesty!" Hinata squeaked embarassingly.

Empress Biwako chuckled. Even after all these years, there were still some things that would never change, much to the Empress delight. "I only ask that you enquire your sister about this. I know that my grandson is fond of her."

Hinata gave a quiet sigh of acquiescence.

"He is fond enough to spout Hyuga pride over Sartobi," the Empress added as an afterthought.

Hinata gave a startled gurgle. Prince Konohamaru might as well _be_ a Hyuga at this point then. "I will speak to my sister about this."

The Empress nodded, smiling mischievously. "You will be here for the better part of a month?"

Hinata affirmed, "I will leave after Prince Asuma and Lady Kurenai's wedding."

The Empress's gaze lowered in contemplation, and then when she next looked up, there was steel in her old grey eyes, a steel Hinata could recognize in herself. "In that time, I wish for you to stay by Lady Kurenai's side. I do not trust Danzo."

Hinata understood. "And Prince Asuma."

"I have already assigned Lord Shikamaru Nara to my son's person."

A Nara. Hinata admired her Empress' quick mind and cutting strategy. The Nara was known to produce more male heirs than females, but that was overlooked for their valuable intelligence and disarming laziness. She had read Lord Shikamaru's files (there were very few things the Lady Hyuga did _not_ know) and although he may be of chunin rank on paper, in reality he was of jonin – bordering on _ANBU_. Coupled by the sensei-student relationship between the Prince and the Nara… Lord Shikamaru would give his life for the Prince's.

_Hinata_ would give her life for her sensei's too.

"I understand," she told the Empress.

"Be wary of Root members," the Empress cautioned. "I summoned you early for the sole purpose of disarming Danzo's plans – to 'shakes things up a bit,' as Lord Jiraiya would say."

Hinata winced. Lord Jiraiya _was_ a character.

"_Hinata Hyuga_," the Empress sounded with weight.

She stood.

"I have taken the chance of Prince Asuma's wedding to get you here," the Empress pressed. "Do not disappoint me."

The Lady Hyuga placed her knees to the ground and pressed her forehead to the wooden floor. "The sun shines bright. I will not fail you, _my Empress_."

Empress Biwako nodded, satisfied. "See to it that you will not. Dismissed."

The Lady Hyuga stood and, still bowing, grabbed her sword, took three steps back from Her Imperial Majesty… and then left as soundlessly as a ghost. One would have believed that she hadn't been there at all, if not for the second still-warm empty teacup on the table. Still fast, still lethal, still deadly and swift…

The Lady Hyuga was just as the Empress remembered her to be.

Still _perfect_.

And still very much _Hinata_.

Smiling to herself, the Empress drained her cup and prepared to face the Imperial Court.

xxx

**the point**


	5. Chapter Five

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Five**

The Imperial Court was _on fire_. Kabuto Yakushi could honestly say that he had never seen the capital so boisterous or _fanatic_ in all his years involved with the Senju Clan… and he had been involved with the Senju for most of his life. There were sounds of rabid party blowers in the distance, rambunctious drinking parties already well on their way (and it was yet to be the _afternoon_), and several people… "getting it on" in the Lady Hyuga's honour? As ridiculous as it was, he found himself suddenly wanting to visit a whorehouse himself. The mood was just _that_ contagious.

And dangerous, he noted with dry humour.

Upon the arrival of the Lady Hyuga, whole streets in the city had been blocked off and nothing short of a national holiday erupted in a matter of moments. He should know. _He had been there_. Standing on the city's defence towers, just to the side for the perfect view of the sun-red city gates, he had watched, with almost bated breath (despite himself) when the Hyuga retinue arrived in their sombre black and white robes, tall flags and stately carriages.

There had been no fanfare. There hadn't been a _need_ for a fanfare; their very _existence_ was enough of a calling card. Their white eyes. Their black hair. The _crest of the Hyuga Head, _and the crowd that had gathered around the gates, flooding the streets and hanging by the roofs of various buildings, _exploded_ in a mishmash cry of noise and colours and movement. Women had burst into tears. Men had fallen to their knees. They had all been so overcome with emotion that Kabuto had felt himself shake at the energy, unable to hold back his own overwhelming _awe_.

They had called out her name.

"_Hinata Hyuga!"_

They had showered her with roses and laurel wreaths.

"_Hinata Hyuga!"_

They had lowered themselves onto their knees to pray for her.

"_Hinata Hyuga!"_

Restaurants had passed out free samples of their creations: dim sums, hors d'oeuvres, appetizers! Pastries threw gift pouches into the overenthusiastic crowds: cookies, petit fours, _gold painted_ chocolate truffles! Artisans gave out their wares: portrait sketching, handcrafted bracelets, spun glass! Wine shops filled the cups of passersby's to the brim: champagne, red, white, sake! Children ran free in the streets singing the National Anthem and handing out stocks of wildflowers they had picked that morning!

It had all been wild and chaotic and _free_, so very _free_ – without care or inhibitions or fear. Even the police and firemen had been handing out balloons and _brownies_ (of all things)! And despite all that _raw energy_ and _excitement_, _no one_ had been trampled. _No one_ had been hurt. _No one_ had dared to lay an unlawful hand on _anybody_. It had been so strange, yet so _welcoming_. It was as if, in that one moment, in that glimpse of _her_ carriage, _utopia_ had been found.

And despite her never being seen, despite her staying in her carriage, despite her being _there_ had not been proven with their very eyes, they had all _known_ that she was there. They had _known_ that she was before them. They had _known_ that she was real and had graced them with her being, if only for a moment. No one had dared to touch the Hyuga retinue. No one had dared to crowd the carriage. No one had dared to fling themselves into the vehicle to touch her.

They had been happy enough to just be in the same _vicinity_ as her, and had found themselves without anymore wants in the world. It had been like everything had fallen into place and that life was complete and happy and full of love. It had all been… just very _perfect_.

And as the carriage had continued onto its course towards the Imperial Palace, the crowd growing wilder along the way as if they were watching a parade, Kabuto had had to closed his eyes for a moment and curl into himself to push back the erratic feelings of being a child again, of wanting to run into the fields to cry ecstatically out into the sky of his joy and awe and bursting satisfaction. It had been absurd. It had been ridiculous. But he had not been able to deny that the feeling had been quite adamant and that he _had_ cherished that one second of freedom he had felt…

And then he had remembered his duties and he was able to compose himself; the faint scent of peonies lingering on his nose.

In truth, there had been so much hype around her person that Kabuto had grown wary, had believed that he'd be disappointed once he was to finally lay his eyes upon her. And when those doors had opened… and she had stepped into the Throne Room… and she raised those eyes to the Empress…

He had not been disappointed. She had overcome all his hyperbolic expectations and then some. She was pretty, and delicate, and fragile – like spun glass in candlelight. She was everything _Hyuga_ and everything _not Hyuga_. Her simple style of dress, her bare essentials of ornamentation, her Hyuga Crest… It was in the way she had appeared _physically_ like any other woman on the street, but _spiritually_ she had carried herself as the most powerful being in the room and, knowing so, she had _nothing_ to fear and _nothing_ to doubt and _nothing_ to hesitate. She was_ untouchable_, and she knew it, and they knew it, and _everybody_ knew it.

She was perfect.

He supposed it had been love at first sight.

He chuckled dryly to himself then. It was foolish to think that it had been love at first sight – when it _hadn't_ been first sight. The first time he had seen her was _five years_ ago, when the strip of land between Konoha and Kumu had been reduced to nothing but mud, and blood, and discarded limbs – of skeletal fingers as poor imitations of the lush forests that had once stood a decade before.

For over ten years, the war had destroyed some of the greatest ninja to have ever lived, and lowered womankind back to the days when there had not been cities or manners or civilizations… or hope. Devastated, disillusioned and discarded – Kabuto recalled that there had been no more "Konoha" or "Kumo" or what it meant to be a part of something greater, a part of a kingdom worthy of fighting for. There had been only death. There had been only destruction. There had been only killing or be killed. The definition of "human" and "mercy" and "sympathy" had long been abandoned in the screams and tears and the helpless pleading of, "P-Please I-I h-have a f-f-family a-and-," only to be sliced off and being mindful that said "f-f-family" was nowhere to be found for vengeance.

For over ten years, for over 3650 days, for over 87658 hours, the Konoha ninja had only known darkness and despair and not-breathing, and the need to search for something _more_ than just this… this grey and nothingness… this endless ending of ends. And ten years had been too long. 3650 days had been too long. 87658 hours had been too long.

It had seemed that they were all going to perish, Kabuto remembered, seemed like it would never end, stopped caring about living… until _her_.

Hair of a reaper's cloak, dark and lashing in the wind and rain – eyes of a ghost, white and cold in the cloud and mist – the young woman-child had stood upon an upended stone crevice, the perfect porcelain figure to mark out the countless nameless graves buried in the savage battlefield – hundreds of faceless ninjas who had cried for help, who had prayed for salvation, who had thought that they could have been saved. Behind a thick curtain of rain and fog, she had gone unnoticed, a small body lost in the mob of preys and predators, until-

Kabuto had barely been able seen her, but she had launched forward, a streamlined air current that pried open necks with her kunai, disabled eyes with her senbon and decapitated heads with her wires. She had worked like a genius – no movement wasted, no thought of hesitance, _no breath taken without taking the breath of others_. She had been a piece of art, or a master artist – she had made killing a whole other art form of life and death. She had been like the Mother Goddess, bringer of life – taker of death.

It had happened fast, almost as if the world had stopped just for her to take advantage of the man.

"Byakugan," she had whispered into the wind and rain.

The man had turned and-

"Two," she had mumbled, her palms pressing gently against his body.

"Four."

"Eight."

By now the Kumo ninjas had noticed something wrong. The man had stumbled back.

"Sixteen."

"Thirty-two."

He had been unable to move any longer.

"Sixty-four!" she had screamed.

With one last shudder, the Raikage had fallen. With one well-aimed hit – a gentle touch of her fingers to his forehead – and his brain had imploded with a muffled gurgle and his blood drained from his ears…

It had been over before he had taken his last breath.

Konoha had won; the endless endings of ends had come to an end.

It had seemed to Kabuto then that it hadn't been possible, that such a slip of a young girl had been able to defeat the most powerful ninja in all of Kumo in one decided move. In the darkness, in the rain turning sleet, he had been unable to know it then… but she was a _Hyuga_, and every ninja within the first year in the Academy understood that the _Hyuga_ were different.

_Hinata Hyuga_ was even _more_ different.

Unbreakable

Undefeatable.

Unmistakeable, and he would be foolish to deny the feelings of admiration he had for her after that one night of battle. After _five years_, to see her again… to witness that other side of her that was not a killer or a murderer… to observe that she _could_ be _someone else_ and be just as flawless in that _someone else_… to _know_ that she _was_, every bit of her, the _perfect_ Head of the Hyuga…

It was almost surprising that he _wasn't_ at a whorehouse thinking of her while in bed with another. But it was a folly thought, a moment's weakness, a _desire_ to be suppressed. He had not been raised and trained to _choose_. He had been raised and trained to _obey_. The Lady Hyuga was not an option… and he would almost bitterly admit that he had not been moulded for her, had not been built for her preference, had not been tuned to her habits or practices or both. He was not his own to give.

Sad, but true, Kabuto weaved passed a couple making out and another slamming into a nearby bedroom – shirts already discarded, to look for the one who he _had_ been moulded for, built for, tuned for. It had been a brittle balance, to court her and _not_ court her at the same time. A man did not court; a man was _courted_. He had been very careful, otherwise she would have felt both insulted and disgusted by his company… and there _was_ much to be disgusted by.

He chuckled at his own private joke and spotted her: pink locks and green eyes. Plucking up a glass of red wine and another of some pink fruity drink, he made his way through the Imperial gardens to her side. When he finally tapped her on the shoulder, she did not startle in his presence, having been familiar with him over the past few years. With both of their practices being sponsored by the Senju Clan, and having on occasion had worked with one another, Kabuto had many advantages his "rivals" did not.

"Sakura," he greeted with an amicable smile.

"_Kabuto_," she sighed with relief. "For a second there, I thought you were _Naruto_."

They shared a chuckle and he handed her the fruity drink.

"Thanks," she accepted, taking a nervous drink.

"Is everything alright?" he asked politely.

"Hm," she sounded listlessly, her eyes jerking across the ground uneasily. "I think I just saw… Lord Jiraiya with…"

"Another woman?" Kabuto filled in, effectively disguising both his anger and disgust with a sympathetic look. There was no one he despised more than his sensei's rival.

"Hm," Sakura sounded listlessly again, even with a nervous tremor. "I may have to find Lady Tsunade…"

Kabuto frowned and lied fluently, "I think I may have seen the Lady Senju by the east fountain. I'll come help you find her."

Sakura looked relieved and nodded, glad for some help. Of the two Lord Consorts of the Senju, Lord Jiraiya was the more troublesome one. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Kabuto nodded helpfully.

They were just about to head towards the east fountain (the opposite direction from where he had last spied Lord Jiraiya to be) when Sakura suddenly gave a start and her face grow warm. Recognizing the signs, Kabuto turned to see _Sasuke Uchiha_ ducking under the Palace threshold and away from his ever-growing crowd of fangirls.

"M-Maybe I should…" Sakura trailed, eyes following the Uchiha Spare with open desire and admiration.

Kabuto mentally sighed, willing his face from twitching with annoyance. The Uzumaki he could deal with – could even _eclipse_ with his manners and easy company, but the _Uchiha_ was a different matter. Sasuke Uchiha had everything Sakura Haruno wanted – every _woman_ wanted. Dark, mysterious and with a bad-boy vibe, Sasuke was everything Kabuto had trained _not_ to be. It had been a miscalculation on his sensei's part to construct Kabuto to be the Kabuto he was now – a Kabuto Sakura did not desire in the way she desired the Uchiha.

From the Palace, Sasuke glanced behind him briefly and Kabuto caught him in the eye. A glare from the Uchiha and he was gone, leaving Kabuto to contemplate on how he was going to redirect Sakura's attention from the Uchiha Spare and onto him again.

"Sakura?" he pried gently.

"Y-Yes?" she squeaked, pressing her knuckles against her cheeks to cool her face.

"Shall we look for the Lady Senju now?" Kabuto suggested with a patient smile.

"O-Oh." Sakura startled, blinking rapidly. "Yes. Yes, you're right, Kabuto. We have to hurry though, before it gets even more upsetting!"

Kabuto smiled. "Yes. Things are a little wild now, aren't they?"

Sakura nodded and smiled herself. "The Lady Hyuga was more than what we could cope with, I think."

Kabuto smirked, the image of black hair and white eyes flashing before his eyes – the indecipherable aura of calm and certainty a warm breath against his cheek. "She smelled of peonies."

Sakura blinked, but before she could say anything, Kabuto was already walking towards the east fountain and taking a sip of his champagne.

It had been a desirable scent.

xxx

He cursed himself for his folly, for his allowing himself to get distracted, even if it had been for a second, for a brief moment where all the rowdy and irritating noises faded into the background, much to his relief. Usually he would have been more aware of his surroundings. Usually he would have felt them before they could suspect him near. _Usually he did not care for peonies_.

He almost clucked his tongue when he saw the crowd of rabid fangirls run passed him in a flurry of sparkles and _squealing_. He _hated_ squealing. He rubbed his temples and, once he was sure that they were gone, stepped out from under the tapestry (hoping that he hadn't just spoiled a priceless Palace artefact) and made quickly to his room where he subsequently shut and locked the door in less than a second.

Sighing heavily, he leaned against the door and slid to the floor out of fatigue and annoyance. Not only had he had to deal with that _idiot_ that morning, who had practically destroyed one of the Palace's courtyards _again_, but he had had to slip out of the reaches of _both_ Sakura and Lady Ino – both of whom were not easy to deny because of their rank.

He had never been as thankful for being an Uchiha then at the moment when both women had reached out well-manicured hands towards him…

"Sasuke?" his brother enquired.

Sasuke stilled and _hoped_ he hadn't just heard what he had just heard.

"Sasuke?" Itachi repeated.

He cursed again and stood to _glare _at his older brother, the Uchiha _heir_, all _naked_ and under _his_ comforter with _another man_, equally _naked_ and equally under _his _comforter. He was so upset and at the end of his rope that he had purposely sent his Sharingan spinning like a blood whirlpool, only to be even _more_ upset when Itachi just stared at him blankly, unperturbed.

Curse his flawless fucking brother! Sasuke gritted his teeth, knowing that there was no chance in _Hell_ could he even lay a _finger_ on his brother if he didn't let him. It wasn't fair that his brother was so talented and skilled and _perfect_ when he wasn't even a _woman_. Sasuke fisted his hands. If only one of them had been a girl, then their Curse wouldn't have been a Curse to begin with.

"_What_," he hissed, "are you doing in _my_ room?"

Itachi, tired and _sated_, ran a hand over his ruffled locks and explained, "Karin was in my room."

"_Karin_," Sasuke spat, feeling his right arm jerk in disgust at the very thought of that woman, "is _your_ _wife_."

Itachi blinked, hand still in his hair. "Yes. I hate her."

Sasuke buried his face in his hand and groaned. "One of these days you're going to have to fuck her, Itachi! We _need_ a female heir!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes, more awake now because of the topic, and said, "You do it. She prefers you over me."

"If you were just a little bit _interested_ in women," Sasuke accused.

"I am," Itachi cut him off passively. "I'm bisexual."

Sasuke jerked and nearly pulled his hair out. "_Then impregnate Karin_!"

Itachi raised a brow. "I like women. Karin is _not_ a woman. She is a _she-devil_."

Sasuke growled and countered, "_Suigetsu_ seems to enjoy the _she-devil_."

Itachi wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Then _he_ can impregnate her. I-"

"_He's not an Uchiha_!"Sasuke burst, out of breath and out of patience.

"Calm, Sasuke," the other man in the bed pacified, snaking his bare arms around Itachi's waist and resting his chin on the Uchiha heir's shoulder.

Sasuke was just so f-ing glad that the comforter was keeper the lower half of their bodies hidden. "Shisui. As an Uchiha, you know the importance of-"

"Yes," Shisui agreed, a little sadly. The Uchiha Curse was _always_ prominent in the minds of the Uchiha. And then Shisui smiled and joked. "Itachi, perhaps we should invite the nearest woman in our bed and get _her_ pregnant."

The Uchiha heir raised a brow and then, slowly, a smile curved on his lips. It was not a displeasing idea for the both of them. "Perhaps one of Sasuke's _fangirls_."

Sasuke shuddered and then snapped, "As long as she gets pregnant, then _I don't care_."

They looked to each other and understood it to be true. The Uchiha were so desperate to break the blasted Uchiha Curse that they were willing to grab any fertile woman off the streets just to impregnate her in the hopes of getting a daughter. It did not matter if she was a noble or not, as long as the child within her womb was of the Uchiha's Main Family, _nothing else mattered_. As long as the _bloodline_ continued without obstruction, then any method was viable – any _sacrifice_ was deemed worthy. _Anything_ for a female heir – _anything_.

Sasuke ran his hands through his hair and gave a heavy sigh, unable to meet his brother in the eye. A moment later and he jerked back and hit his head against the door when his brother flicked his forehead. _Fortunately_ his brother had put pants on beforehand.

"Do not worry, little brother," the Uchiha Heir scolded with a soft smile. "I will take care of everything."

Sasuke smirked despondently and let his shoulders sink against the bedroom door.

Itachi was ready to return to bed when he noticed… "You smell like peonies, Sasuke."

Sasuke tensed, and Shisui stilled among the comforters with wide eyes. They dared not ask him… _could not_ ask him what the scent of peonies _implied_. If it were true, then the Uchiha were honoured a thousand fold, but if it were _not_ true, then they dared not to voice their theory aloud in fear of injuring _her_ honour and _her _reputation.

She was untouchable, even for the _Uchiha_.

Cursed hands could not hope to touch her…

Sasuke shook his head and waived their theory (and hope) aside. "No. I was in the garden earlier."

Itachi let out a breath neither his brother or lover (and best friend) had noticed until that moment, in the curtain-shadowed bedroom and muted thoughts, of a tension of what could have been and what could not have.

Then, suddenly, Itachi asked him, "Do you like her?"

Sasuke swallowed hard and tried to mask his feelings, but it was _foolish_ to try to mask _anything_ when it came to her. One look, and that was all it took to shatter all his misconceptions of the Hyuga Clan. It _still_ sent him spinning at how she had been able to take his breath away without being a stunning beauty, or displaying a crippling amount of chakra. A part of him, a _bitter_ part of him, realized that _she_ was the daughter the Uchiha had wanted all those years ago. If _she_ had been Itachi… then there would not have been a Curse at all…

"She is the Lady Hyuga," Sasuke mumbled.

It was answer enough. There was _no one_ who _didn't_ like the Lady Hyuga. It would have been _mutiny_ and _betrayal_ to Konoha if that were so. And the Uchiha were, if anything, _loyal_ to Konoha.

Itachi nodded and slipped back underneath the comforters. "Perhaps it is time you got married."

Sasuke's head snapped up, shocked at the suggestion and maybe a little… hopeful?

Shisui shook his head and said, "It will not do well for Sasuke to marry out of the clan."

No, Sasuke agreed. If his older brother was not going to bed a woman – not even his _wife_ – any time soon, then the matter of the female heir would fall upon Sasuke's shoulders. He would not hate his brother for it. His brother had already brought enough honour to the clan, had _sacrificed_ many personal endeavours to redeem the Uchiha within the Imperial Court. Sasuke would do _anything_ to ease his brother's mind.

"_Sasuke_," Itachi said, for once sharp. The younger Uchiha looked to him. "_I will take care of it_."

Sasuke wanted to trust his brother. In fact, he was _so sure_ that Itachi _would_ "take care of it," but that did not mean that he _wanted_ his brother to. Perhaps, he decided, it was _his_ turn to uphold the clan's honour. Perhaps, he supposed, it was _his_ turn to face the Curse.

And when he answered, they all knew he was lying. "Yes, brother."

But they did not gainsay him.

xxx

**the point**


	6. Chapter Six

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Six**

"T-The Lady Hyuga," the servant stammered anxiously.

They ignored the stumble as they entered the room, the gentle scent of honey-water curling into their hair and soothing their temples. It was a gorgeous room, Hinata noted pleasingly, of pink floral patterns and softened red. The walls had been washed down with cerise red, painted in circles against a crème background to tone down the crimson. The sofas were in shades of raspberry, punctured aesthetically at every corner with rose or tulip pattered cushion, trimmed in gold – a gold mirrored in the intricate stucco work along the trimmings of the ceiling – a gold that reflected in the flourishing chandelier above with red shades at each light bulb. There was a bed at one corner, matching the sofa set in colour and pattern, with a small canopy of red silk framing the gold bed frames.

Hinata found it satisfactory, _more_ than satisfactory, for it befitted and described the subtle beauty and feminine grace that was the very woman who stood by the glass door leading out to the balcony. It was not a large room, it was not as elaborate as others, but it was the room of her _sensei_. The Empress had not held back the funds for her future daughter-in-law, much to Hinata's relief.

"Thank you," Lady Kurenai told the doorkeeper, a small boy who fumbled with his fingers and trying (and failing) to discreetly get a good look at the Lady Hyuga from underneath his bangs. Seeing this, Lady Kurenai met Hinata in the eye and her lips curved into a whimsical smile. "Dismissed."

The boy jolted awake and then, realizing that they knew that he had been trying to steal looks at the Lady Hyuga, squeaked before scrambling out the room as fast as his little legs could carry him; the Triple Threat easily stepping aside for him. When the door was finally shut, _firmly_, Lady Kurenai chuckled and returned to the glass doors to gaze at the capital city from afar.

Hinata smiled and fixed the Hyuga Sword at her waist, giving the Triple Threat a moment to diplomatically find their places against one side of the wall. Then, pulling herself up straight, she bowed. "Sensei."

Lady Kurenai did not move from the glass doors. Instead, she said, "Do you know that I've counted at least _five_ air balloons floating over the city?"

Hinata frowned and began to cross the room. "Spies?"

Lady Kurenai shook her head and chuckled, as if she were privy to some private joke. "No. They've been showering peony petals onto the streets."

Hinata faltered halfway across the room, confused. "Why?" She suspected that Tenten may be holding back laughter from behind her.

"Why?" Lady Kurenai enquired, finally turning to face her once-student with a raised brow, amused and teasing. "Do you know you smell like peonies, Hinata?"

Hinata's ankles almost gave to her heels when she stumbled, her face growing flush and her shoulders jerking with embarrassment. Tenten wasn't helping either, giving out a bark of laughter and, in a flash, Hinata knew that the female Threat and her sensei have found a kindred spirit in one another… fixed solely to embarrass and fluster the great Lady Hyuga.

Lady Kurenai giggled from behind her hand as she moved to the sofas. "Come and sit, Hinata. Let me get a good look at you. It had been quite some time, hasn't it?"

Ashamed, Hinata lowered her chin. "Forgive me, sensei. I have not been mindful of you."

Lady Kurenai clucked her tongue at her and took a seat in the arm chair. "Don't be ridiculous, Hinata. _I_ could have visited you too. We are both at fault, then, if you think about it. And I _know_ you are intelligent enough to know this."

Hinata smiled sheepishly and settled onto one of the sofas. It _had_ been years since they had last met, not as long as _five _years, but long enough. She had been busy being the Lady Hyuga. Lady Kurenai had been busy training genjutsu specialists and garnering a position in ANBU. But they had _both_ had the pleasure of living through Lady Kurenai's courtship with the Prince Asuma through their letters. And there had been _a lot_ of letters. So many that, sitting just a foot away from her sensei, Hinata couldn't feel a rift between the two of them at all! It was as if the years that they had last seen each other did not exist. It was as if time had not passed. And it all seemed so natural, Hinata realized in wonder, to slip into her sensei's warm presence once more and duck shyly from her red gaze again.

"I will try to come to the capital more often then," Hinata decided, reaching forward to serve the rose tea on the coffee table. "_After_ the wedding," she added.

Lady Kurenai's eyes shone with mirth, stirring sugar into her tea. "I don't think that'll be very wise, Hinata."

Hinata startled and blinked owlishly at her sensei. "Why?"

Tenten snorted and Neji shot his teammate a look that helped nobody.

"You're already causing a kerfuffle today," Lady Kurenai pointed out. "If you come any more often…"

Hinata winced. "Perhaps they will get used to me if I visit more frequently."

"Perhaps." Lady Kurenai nodded wisely. "But there _is_ a reason you _do not_."

Hinata sighed and took a sip of her tea. Yes, there _was_ a reason she did not visit the capital often, no more than once in every _five years_, she supposed with a small smile. For one, she did not like the attention. The heroine's triumph that had taken place five years ago _still _sent her dizzying at the memory. For two, she had not been made for noises or parties or socializing or late nights or loose morals. And finally, and most importantly, she had been able to see things more clearly from a distance. The more removed she was, the less people expected her to know. Again, _there were very few things the Lady Hyuga did not know about_.

"Yes," Hinata finally replied.

Lady Kurenai nodded. "I think it'd be better if _I_ visited _you_. That would certainly send the Hyuga Clan in a kerfuffle, wouldn't it?"

Hinata smiled in humour, but there was a certain steel in it that they all understood to be confidence. "I can assure you, sensei, that the Hyuga Household is _always_ prepared for _any_ impromptu Imperial visit. I even suggest that you should arrive on a night of a full moon. The moonlight cacti bloom best during that time."

Lady Kurenai raised an amused brow and did not miss the smug smirk on Neji's face, the confident smile on Tenten's and the shining proud grin on Lee's. The Hyuga were certainly _united_, and no one could possibly gainsay them on their loyalty.

Content and proud, _very_ proud, Lady Kurenai sighed with a smile of her own, soft and gentle and dream-like, and mused, "I will have to tell Asuma then. He'll do _anything_ to get out of the Palace."

"I can understand," Hinata sympathized, placing her teacup onto its saucer. "Everything must be quite chaotic with the wedding so near."

"And with your arrival," Lady Kurenai added, but did not pause long for Hinata to feel embarrassed. "Not only are we short staffed – and do not tell me you have _not_ noticed – but everyone wants to know our preferences for _everything_, even when they aren't a part of the wedding or have _no business_ to know." Hinata frowned, troubled for the sake of her sensei. "Just yesterday Lord Jiraiya asked me how low the neckline will be for my dress!"

Hinata bit her lips together, offended.

"That pervert!" Tenten burst for her Mistress.

"Yes," Lady Kurenai clipped, exasperated. "Needless to say, Asuma had to pull me back before I could give him a good hit or two. I was even tempted to pull Rank into the conversation!"

Hinata was glad that she hadn't. Lady Kurenai was yet to be a part of the Imperial Clan, and the Yuhi Clan could not possibly compare to the Senju Clan, even less so when she had been dealing with the First Lord Consort Senju.

"He will have to restrain himself once you are the Princess Consort," Hinata assured.

Lady Kurenai sighed. "That's what we're hoping for." Brushing a few stray strands of her hair back, she regarded Hinata carefully. "You may have to speak to your sister about Princess Consorts soon."

"Prince Konohamaru," Hinata acknowledged with a nod. "Yes, so the Empress has suggested."

Lady Kurenai nodded gravely. "As well as Prince Gaara of Suna."

Neji made a choking noise and even Tenten appeared startled; Lee quietly troubled at the news. Hinata was alarmed. She had not heard of this. "I have not heard of this."

"No?" Lady Kurenai was confused then, and then shook her head. "Perhaps because they had yet to _do_ anything, but I've seen the way he looks at her and…"

Looks? Perhaps that was why the Hyuga servants had said nothing. _Looks_ were not definite. _Looks_ did not mean her sister was interested. Prince Gaara could do nothing if Hanabi was not willing to play, and Hinata would not have to intervene unless… Hinata frowned. Unless Prince Gaara garnered the sponsorship of his sister, the Empress Temari of Suna, in his endeavour, then the Lady Hyuga would be ill-pressed to do something too.

"And do not forget your own situation, Hinata," Lady Kurenai reminded.

"Mine?" Hinata was perplexed.

"Yes," Lady Kurenai responded firmly. "You have been of marriageable age for years now, and many mothers are desperate to marry their sons to you. Your early arrival for the Imperial Wedding will only spur them on."

Hinata shook her head, exhausted from just the thought of it. "Sensei, I have no plans for marriage."

Lady Kurenai wasn't surprised, but Hinata could tell that she wanted to convince her otherwise.

Nodding, Lady Kurenai counselled, "Perhaps not now, Hinata, but with your sister… _Someone_ will have to provide the Hyuga an heir."

"If not Hanabi," Hinata reasoned logically, "then certainly Neji."

Neji frowned, but said nothing. The Lady Hyuga had never voiced such plans, and it would do no good to discuss this with an outsider in the room.

Lady Kurenai looked ready to speak again when the doorkeeper boy came knocking and announced, still very nervous, "His Im-Imperial Highness, Prince Asuma!"

The room stood as one when the Prince entered and bowed simultaneously.

"The sun shines bright, Your Imperial Highness," they chorused.

For a moment, Prince Asuma did nothing… and then he proceeded to scoop Lady Kurenai up in his arms with a giant, "Whoop!" Hinata stepped back, shocked when the Prince started to spin her sensei around the room! Skirts went flying, several decorative pins flew from Lady Kurenai's hair, and Hinata was too dazed to respond while the room was filled with Prince Asuma's deep hearty laugh and Lady Kurenai's heated scandalized scoldings!

One such enthusiastic spin sent the teapot flying from the coffee table and-

Hinata automatically reached forward and-

xxx

Shikamaru pulled back when his fingers grazed the hand of the Lady Hyuga. She seemed just as startled to see him, her grip around the once-soaring teapot sure and firm as she looked up at him, eyes wide and as deep as the pale moon. She must had been too distracted by his sensei spinning Lady Kurenai like a madman to notice him enter right after the Prince, and even too stunned to when the teapot went up into the air like that. The fact that they had both seen it and reacted accordingly, reaching simultaneously for the porcelain, must had been quite shocking for her.

"A-Ah," he found himself stammering. "S-Sorry."

It was not in a man's position to touch a woman, especially a woman of the Lady Hyuga's calibre. Not only was he reduced to uncertainty, but for the _first time in his life_, he actually felt _ashamed_. He had no issue in touching his mother (who was his mother) or Ino (who was one of his childhood friends), but the _Lady Hyuga_… with her substantial and _insubstantial_ being, her sure and steady steps, her knowledge of herself and of everyone around her (except for that brief moment when she hadn't noticed him)… It was _most_ disconcerting.

But then she smiled – _smiled_ – as if to say that it was alright and that he _hadn't_ dishonoured his clan in some intangible rulebook. He knew that a lot of women, especially _noble_ women, would have felt both offended and disgusted to have been touched so casually and without warning, even _if _it had been an accident. In fact, he remembered in a few cases where that _had_ happened and the men had either been publically shamed or made to be in the woman's… _service_ for the night in compensation. He was pleasantly surprised that the Lady Hyuga was not like other stereotypical high women.

She placed the teapot back on the table, and he hadn't realized that he'd been watching her hair until she flicked her high ponytail from her shoulder.

"Asuma!" Lady Kurenai scowled, kicking her legs. "Put. Me. Down."

Prince Asuma gave another hearty laugh before plopping his intended unceremoniously down onto the sofa, her skirts falling just a little above mid-thigh and showing a good eyeful of leg. Prince Asuma, of course, would be daft to not to take advantage of it by _not_ running his palms over Lady Kurenai's ankles (oh la la!) to her knee and up to her-

"YOUR IMPERIAL HIGHNESS!" the Lady Hyuga screeched.

Shikamaru winced and took a step back, unable to hide the shock from his face.

Prince Asuma chuckled and Lady Kurenai shoved him, relatively roughly, off of her in a rush.

"Five years, Hinata," Prince Asuma said, highly entertained, "and _still_ a virgin?"

Shikamaru felt his eyes grow large at the piece of surprising news. Usually kunoichi knew to rid of their virginity as soon as possible, given the psychological damage they may receive if they were to fall upon the hands of enemy ninja. _Noble_ ladies, in fact, preferred to have their virginity taken soon as well, so not to grow too attached to the first male they bed and risk the chances of being manipulated. Women, by Shikamaru's experience, were quite promiscuous in and of themselves. And yet… the Lady Hyuga, both a ninja and a noblewoman, _was a virgin_?

She was getting more and more surprising as she went.

"P-Please…"

And she _stuttered_?

"Stop it, Asuma," Lady Kurenai cut in like a hot knife, sitting up from the sofa and taking a moment to regain her breath from the extensive _spinning_ she had taken part of earlier. "Sh-She…"

Lady Kurenai coughed, unable to get air in fast enough and-

"Sensei!" The Lady Hyuga was suddenly beside Lady Kurenai, crouched by the sofa and effectively placing herself between the Prince and his fiancée.

Shikamaru blinked, his equilibrium disturbed. He hadn't even seen her _move_. In fact, he was sure that she had spoken "Sensei" first before moving… and yet her movement was the first thing he registered before her voice had reached him… _She moved faster than sound_?

"Holy…" he breathed, out of breath himself now.

His sensei caught him in the eye and sent him a smile, as if to say, "I know."

"_Sensei_," the Lady Hyuga said, grave and serious. "_How long_?"

Shikamaru looked to _his_ sensei, who smirked rather smugly, and he was left wondering how the Lady Hyuga knew about… _that_. Taking an inquisitive step towards the women (but will remaining at a respectful distance), he saw the telltale veins of the Byakugan latticed around the Lady Hyuga's eyes, shimmering almost silver and translucent.

_And she was staring straight at Lady Kurenai's stomach_.

"Two months," Prince Asuma answered with a grin, and they looked to him as he took a seat beside Lady Kurenai. "And it was _worth_ it." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Asuma!" Lady Kurenai cried, cuffing him in the shoulder, not hard, only embarrassed.

Quietly, _very_ quietly, the Lady Hyuga stood from the ground and regarded the two with a contemplative look in her eyes. "Does _anyone else_ know?"

Prince Asuma's grin froze and his jaw locked. He understood, then, what the grim expression on her face meant, an expression that almost made Shikamaru want to fidget under the pressure. With a nod, the Prince explained, "The Imperial Clan, of course. And," he nodded in his student's direction, "Shikamaru Nara."

Shikamaru hoped she wasn't going to turn her ghostly gaze on him.

And she didn't, much to his relief.

"And the Lady Senju," the Lady Hyuga filled in.

Lady Kurenai nodded. "Of course. Lady Tsunade delivers all the-"

"I see," the Lady Hyuga cut in, and it was rude of her to do so, but she made no apology.

Shikamaru would have thought that, yes, the Lady Hyuga _was_ flawed in some way… until he remembered the sensitivity of their subject. He did not miss the way the Lady Hyuga flickered her gaze to the other three ninja standing by the wall – the _Hyuga Triple Threat_, or the way the lone male Hyuga member shook his head a negative "no." Shikamaru hadn't been the only one who had noticed, for his sensei and Lady Kurenai looked to each other severely with no little bit of fear either.

"_Everybody knows_," the Lady Hyuga whispered, low and hollow and foreboding.

Shikamaru _did_ shift this time, and uncomfortably too. Although he wasn't one to pay much attention to clan politics (too troublesome), he understood enough that _something_ had shifted and the Empress had made him one of the key players.

The Lady Hyuga made for the door then; the Triple Threat following without hesitation.

Turning slightly, the Lady Hyuga gave a small reassuring smile to Lady Kurenai. "The Empress has instructed that I am to guard you."

Lady Kurenai nodded, having had figured that much out.

Prince Asuma whistled. "Wow, love. My mom's spoiling you now!"

Lady Kurenai put a well-placed elbow into his gut to shut him up.

"Lord Shikamaru," the Lady Hyuga called to him.

He almost jumped, and mentally praised himself when he didn't. He turned to her, pausing a moment at that smile on her face, at that hardness in her eyes, at the way she _knew_ she had a goal to reach and that _nothing_ could even come _close_ to stopping her.

"It is an honour to work with you," she told him, and her smile was _sincere_.

Shikamaru didn't know how to reply. For all his high intelligence quotient of over 200, she had left him without words or thoughts or the sense of _being_.

"I am retiring to my city estate to think things over," the Lady Hyuga told them, specifically to Lady Kurenai who nodded in response. "I will return for this evening's…" Here, she faltered, "_party_."

Lady Kurenai smiled. "Remember to wear something nice. It will be your first time at Court."

"Don't worry, Lady Kurenai," the sole female member of the Triple Threat assured with a wicked smirk. "I'll make sure her wardrobe's gonna make her the wet dreams of _a lot_ of men tonight."

The Lady Hyuga blushed – _blushed_.

Shikamaru couldn't even _believe_ his eyes.

"I will see you tonight," was the Lady Hyuga's farewell before she left the room like the smoke from a candle flickering out.

Prince Asume looked to Shikamaru with a bleak frown, and Shikamaru understood. It was time to put his 200-plus I.Q. to good use, and his first thought was that of Ino, who was as gossipy as they could come and had a good, firm connection to the Senju Clan.

With a nod, he, too, left the room.

His fingers were still burning from where he had touched her, but it was not an unpleasant feeling.

xxx

**the point**


	7. Chapter Seven

**I think I confused a lot of people when I selected Shikamaru and Hinata as the pairing in my last chapter, especially when this is supposed to be a harem fic. And it is. Since it **_**is**_** a harem fic, each chapter will focus on a different guy. Last chapter was Shikamaru, this chapter there are none, but next chapter there will be a different guy that is **_**not**_** Shikamaru. All in all, there are going to be FIVE guys in total, and I've already introduced four of them, so be prepared! ;D**

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Seven**

She closed the door behind her, the Hyuga Sword in hand, and turned to the waiting Triple Threat. Three in a row, perfectly lined up, backs straight, eyes forward, and expressions blank and strong – the epitome of Hyuga grace and power. They appeared neither troubled nor miffed, and she could only assume that they had been unbothered thus far by the fussiness of the Imperial Court or the fanaticism of the capital city, or were rather well adept at hiding their ruffled responses. She was glad that she had not left a single one behind at the Main Estate. She was going to need all three at their best and most vigilant from what little information – short and _very_ vital – she had been given by the Empress and what she had discovered from her sensei and the Prince. She cursed herself for not having had Hanabi stick by her sensei like glue, or even her sensei for not trusting her sister with such important news.

She crossed the room to her desk, a room she had not been in for the past five years. It was exactly as she had remembered it to be: the floor to ceiling bookshelves, the deep mahogany desk, the priceless oil painting of her mother and father in the golden-gilded frame. The Hyuga's townhouse in the capital was just as meticulous as the Main Estate, as she had expected it to be, and ran just as smoothly, if not on a smaller scale. She _did not_ remember, however, the hundreds of bouquets of peonies and roses and baby's breath placed at her front door, gifts from the many residents of the capital city, or the many impromptu civilian choirs on the city streets singing (in imperfect a cappella) of her beauty and grace and undeniable strength… but she supposed a little chaos may be the very distraction they wanted for their opponent.

She looked to Neji, who nodded in affirmative. Several jutsu had already been put into place to keep the room soundproof and protected from unwanted visitors; the townhouse's staff had been ordered to keep out and away until she called for them. Doors had been locked, windows secured and curtains shut. There was nothing and no one getting in _or_ out at this point in their meeting.

She set the Hyuga Sword against the bookshelf behind her chair and sat down; the Triple Threat was to remain standing until told otherwise. There were two topics at hand, and it had always been the _Hyuga_ first, and _Konoha_ second. _This_, no matter how bleak and dire their situation may be, _was no exception_.

"Hanabi," she opened.

Neji spoke first. "Lady Hanabi's relations with Prince Konohamaru must either end, or proceed onto courtship immediately. It is _deplorable _to forestall the Prince's expectations and the expectations of the Imperial Clan, going as far as to restrict the future of the kingdom."

"_But_," Tenten cut in, meeting the Lady Hyuga in the eye, "courtship will indisputably lead to _marriage_, and Lady Hanabi would _never_ marry out of the clan."

"It would be an honour," Neji countered.

"It would be _suicide_," Tenten gritted.

Hinata flickered her gaze to Lee, who could only frown and shrug helplessly, unwilling to step in between his vindictive comrades. Sombrely, the Lady Hyuga placed her elbows on her desk and weaved her fingers together, pressing her lips to them in contemplation. They had both made valid points, and she had expected nothing less from them. From her own knowledge, and therefore the knowledge of the Triple Threat accordingly, her sister and the Prince had been having these… _trysts_ for the past year and a half. Although she disapproved of her sister having lost her virginity at fourteen, Hinata also understood that it had been expected of her, and that many women had lost theirs even earlier. There was no doubt in her mind that Hanabi was attached to the Prince and vice versa… but she did not know whether or not her sister was willing to cast aside her Hyuga name for the Sarutobi's.

"There would be no better husband for Lady Hanabi," Neji reasoned.

"But he would be no _Hyuga_," Tenten pointed out, crossing her arms.

It would have been ideal, the Lady Hyuga knew, if Prince Konohamaru had not been a Prince, but rather a regular noble like all the other men vying for her sister's attention. If that had been the case, the problem of Hanabi marrying out of the clan wouldn't even be a topic for discussion. Women did not marry out of the clan. _Men married in_. It was complicated, then, by the mere fact that Prince Konohamaru was royalty and him _marrying out_ was not an option, not in such precarious times – not when the Imperial Clan was in need of a female heir, or _any_ heir for that matter. With only Prince Konohamaru as the successor of the Imperial Throne in his generation, no doubt that the Sarutobi were looking forward to Lady Kurenai's contribution…

"And you _cannot_ say that Lady Kurenai is faring well," Tenten shot Neji down even before he could speak. "She is not a Hyuga."

It had been easier for her sensei, Hinata agreed. Lady Kurenai was the last remaining member of the Yuhi Clan, a lower clan in the noble hierarchy that had been poverty-stricken until her sensei had became a ninja. In retrospect, Hinata believed, her sensei should not have wanted to marry into the Sarutobi, but should have strove to rebuild her clan by giving birth to as many children as possible. Surrogate mothers were not unheard of, but even encouraged in these cases. However… Hinata closed her eyes. However, _love_ had made Lady Kurenai's decision to marry into the Imperial Clan indisputable. It had to be done, in her sensei's case – she would not have settled for anything less than to be with Prince Asuma wholly and without obstruction. She was willing to sacrifice her bloodline for her love.

_But her sister was not her sensei_, she acknowledged grimly, ignoring the fiery glares between her cousin and the female Threat. Her sister would, as Tenten had passionately mentioned, _never_ marry out of the Hyuga. All Hyuga were bred and raised for the sole purpose of the Hyuga. They trained themselves mindlessly for the Hyuga. They made their every decision and every opinion for the Hyuga. The Hyuga were the best – no argument. Their dedication to their clan was undisputed and unquestioned – robotic and without complaint. And Hanabi was no less Hyuga than the others. She would never dare to dishonour the Hyuga by casting away her noble name in favour of a lover's. _It was not Hyuga_, and Hinata understood this – _lived_ by this. But she could not help but think, most logically, that perhaps her sister would better serve the Hyuga by being a Sarutobi.

"There is also Prince Gaara of Suna," Lee reminded, nearly shrinking when his volatile comrades broke eye contact to simultaneously gaze at him.

Neji frowned and Tenten pressed her lips together. Hinata had nearly forgotten about the foreign Prince, and was equally troubled at the prospect. Domestic politics were easier to handle than international, and she was ill-equipped to deal with Prince Gaara when she had only heard of his interest just short of an hour ago. It was most disconcerting to have to face, not one, but _two_ Imperial Princes wanting her sister's attention, and the Lady Hyuga could not be too sure of Prince Gaara's intentions. With Prince Konohamaru, she understood that his feelings were true, but with Prince Gaara… it could be a guise to obtain the Hyuga fortune and network.

"Suna is playing with fire," Neji hissed.

It was such a likelihood that Tenten did not object to his biased observations.

"But he could be true." Lee felt it was only right to defend the foreign Prince. "Prince Gaara may very well be in love with Lady Hanabi."

Neji snorted and Hinata closed her eyes at the implications. Love. She could _never_ forget about love.

She looked to the painting of her mother and father on the wall and understood that, despite all the political issues and the honour of the Hyuga name… _Hinata did not want to place her sister in a loveless marriage_. A loveless marriage without a daughter could mean the end – "suicide" in Tenten's terms, but a marriage built on the foundations of love, made a son… _bearable_… She, herself, had been witness to both such unions and, almost bitterly, she acknowledged that the union between her late mother and father had been one of the former, a mutual partnership for the sake of the Hyuga. They had been most fortunate to be blessed with both a female heir and spare, but if she and her sister had been sons… Her late mother would have been forced by the Hyuga Elders to take a second, or even a _third_, husband.

But a marriage based on love… She looked to Neji then and smiled wistfully. Her late uncle and aunt had loved each other, truly _loved_ each other, in a way that brought tears to her eyes every time she thought of them. Even as a child Hinata had understood that her parents were not the same as her cousin's. It was in the way her late uncle and aunt had _looked _at each other, _touched_ each other, _respected_ each other… To this very day Hinata's heart still wrenched at the sight of her aunt in her black robes, still mourning over her husband's death over a decade ago. And she wanted that for Hanabi. She wanted that happiness, however brief, for her sister because her sister _deserved_ it.

Her cousin too, she thought, her eyes moving from him to the female Threat. They had already given so much to her and the clan that she could not possibly _shackle_ them to an unhappy union. To do so would be against her Hyuga pride and honour, her beliefs and morals. _And it would kill her if that were to happen_.

Lee must have noticed her pensive mood then, for he reprieved, "Lady Hanabi deserves the best."

Neji lowered his gaze; Tenten morose at Lee's examination. They understood, and agreed unanimously, that Lady Hanabi _did_ deserve the best. The problem being, then, was that what they thought of as being "the best" may not be what she, herself, would consider to be "the best."

The Lady Hyuga placed her hands flat on the desk and decided, "I will write to my sister and relay our observations to her after this meeting." The Triple Threat nodded, their expression wiping clean as the topic came to a (uncertain) resolution. "There is now the matter of Lady Kurenai's condition."

"It certainly explains the curious actions of one _Kakashi Hatake_," Tenten scrutinized.

Neji agreed. "With the possibility of the next Imperial heir, and most certainly a spare otherwise, the Senju Clan is sure to be involved."

"The Senju Clan has always delivered the Imperial heirs," Lee added with a nod.

Hinata leaned back and had understood early on as to why the Empress had summoned her for the first time in five years – a month earlier than when she had first intended to arrive for the Imperial Wedding. The chance of the child in her sensei's womb being the most-sought-after Crown Princess was fifty-percent. The chance of her sensei being assassinated before the birth of her child… _zero_ if the Lady Hyuga was at her side. With Lady Kurenai pregnant with Prince Asuma's child, the various clans – most definitely the larger estates and the Powerhouses – must have started to move by now, however subtly, to either garner Lady Kurenai's favour… or to down her in an intricate plot of political stratagem. The Lady Hyuga's only regret, and she had very few in her life, _was not knowing sooner_.

"The Lady Senju is, no doubt, Lady Kurenai's midwife," Hinata observed, and the Triple Threat nodded in turn for there could be no other. Lady Tsunade was not only the Imperial Physician, but also the kingdom's first and foremost specialist in the medical field – Director of the best hospitals in the country. The Empress would not put the fate of her clan's future in a novice. "She would not, however, visit Lady Kurenai alone…"

"Lady Shizune is her heir," Neji filled in. "She would accompany the Lady Senju and know of Lady Kurenai's condition."

"And perhaps even Lady Sakura," Tenten included. "She is her apprentice, surpassing even Lady Shizune."

Lee frowned. "With Lord Kakashi calling for Lady Shizune's attention, then the Uchiha are privy to Lady Kurenai's condition as well."

"And with Lord Naruto," Tenten said, equally disquieted, "'_pursuing_' Lady Sakura, then the Uzumaki has that knowledge too…"

Neji cursed and fisted his hands. "_We are late in every aspect_."

"Not only late," the Lady Hyuga said, levelling them with a stare, "but _horribly outmanoeuvred_."

Neji cursed again, Tenten gritted her teeth, and Lee crossed his arms and frowned – all eyes on the ground. Ashamed. They were _ashamed_. To be the most elite of the elite Hyuga… only to fall short on their intelligence and their lack of attention to the inner workings of the Imperial Clan… They were ashamed to have failed their Lady Hyuga so thoroughly, insulted to have been behind the Uzumaki _and_ the _Uchiha_ (of all clans) in _any_ aspect, and dishonoured in one fell swoop.

They could not look her in the eye.

But the Lady Hyuga was not upset. If they had failed, then she had equally failed in her own right for not pursuing the matters of the Imperial Clan herself. Her only conciliation, at this point of political intrigue and oncoming disaster, was that she was_ not too late_. In many ways, she was at an advantage. There was no one, excluding Prince Asuma, who was closer to Lady Kurenai than her. There was no one, excluding the Emperor, who was more trusted by the Empress than her. There was no one, excluding the Empress, who was more loved by Konoha than her. Moreover, the one striking factor that could, and _would_, upset all the subtle manipulations and political stratagems (however perfect and impeccable they were) of the Powerhouses' had yet to make a move – had yet to _hint_ at what he wanted. And _he_, the Lady Hyuga knew, was her primary opponent.

"We are to play chess," the Lady Hyuga said.

The Triple Threat raised their eyes from the ground, stunned.

"The Empress has informed me that Lord Danzo Shimura has set up a new board," she explained. As befitting of the Triple Threat, they did not show any outward appearances of being troubled. She had never been more proud of them than this moment. "I prefer to be white this time. Black had nearly lost us the game last time, and I would hate to be surprised… _again_."

"Yes, milady," they chorused.

"Tenten," she addressed, and the female Threat answered with her outmost attention. "I want you to do some reconnaissance on the clans, in particular the activities surrounding the Senju, Uzumaki and Uchiha. I want to know what _they_ know."

"Yes, milady!" Tenten affirmed with a firm nod.

"Lee."

He straightened.

"You are to verify the security within the Imperial Wing of the Palace, in particular around the vicinities of Lady Kurenai's room," the Lady Hyuga commanded. "You are to then construct a plan and provision for other safeties you deem necessary that I will look over. You have three days to do this, Lee, and do not spare on the expenses or the details – _especially_ the details."

"Yes, milady!" Lee saluted with enthusiasm.

Hinata gave a brusque nod and ordered, "You two are dismissed. Neji." Her cousin looked to her expectantly. "I wish to speak with you privately."

"Yes, milady!" they chorused.

There was something in their eyes then, a fire that reflected in the Lady Hyuga's ice.

Chess… The Hyuga were _so very adept_ at chess too.

The two of the three Triple Threat left the room quietly as the Lady Hyuga reflected on what had to be said beforehand. She knew that her cousin was anxious, perhaps even a tad irritated since she had voiced her plans to Lady Kurenai earlier on, but she was quite adamant with her decision, in particular on this specific topic. As the closed the door behind the two Triple Threat, the Lady Hyuga – _Hinata_ – knew _exactly_ what to say when-

"Hinata," Neji began, sharp and precise.

-when her cousin decided to take the liberty for himself and disrupt her carefully planned speech.

But she would give it him. It was not a pleasant feeling to have been surprised like he had been.

She nodded for him to continue.

"You cannot expect for me to provide you an heir," he told her, his features hard and exacting. "Nor Hanabi."

"I do not understand why you cannot, or Hanabi either," Hinata said calmly.

Neji's expression twisted in disapproval. "We are not you."

"But we are of the same breed," she reasoned.

He shook his head. "But we are not _you_."

"Why must you be so adamant that it has to be me?"

"Because you are the Lady Hyuga," Neji stated, a sure gleam in his eyes. "Your genes are more of an asset than mine, _or_ Hanabi's."

"However-"

"_No_, Hinata," Neji pressed firmly, placing his hands on the desk and leaning forward to meet her in the eyes, sincere and compassionate. "I understand if you do not wish to wed. I understand if you do not wish to have children. _But_," he emphasized, "_you are not your mother_."

Hinata, for the first time in a long while, tore her gaze away from his – a gaze that resembled her father's so much, resembled her father's twin's so much… resembled her uncle's, Neji's father's, _so much_. They had been so alike, her father and her uncle, but so different in how they had lived their lives. One had been in a loveless marriage blessed with daughters, and the other in a loving marriage cursed with a single son. Watching her mother and father, however brief before her mother's life had been taken, had been hard to swallow. It had not been as easy as watching her late uncle and aunt. Although Neji should understand her dislike for marriage, although he laid witness to his mother's pain _every single day of his life_, he still wanted her to marry, still wanted her to bare children…

She could not understand him – _them_. She could not understand why the Hyuga were waiting for something and someone she could not give them… It was implausible.

"I cannot," she said.

There had been something in her tone, something _cold_ and _chilling_, that Neji slowly nodded and carefully straightened from the desk. It was as far as she was going to allow him to go today, but they both knew that the war, even after all these years, was hardly over. The issue of the Hyuga heir would remain suspended until further notice.

"And you?" Hinata asked, lifting her gaze to his.

He raised a brow. "I do not understand."

"Do you not have someone you like?" she enquired.

Neji frowned. "No."

"Not even Tenten?" she asked.

"It is not the time for that." He shook his head.

"It has been years," Hinata told him, "and you are older than I. In all intent and purposes, we should get _you_ wed off before turning to me."

He sighed. "A man does not do the courting, Lady Hyuga."

"But you are Hyuga," she said with a teasing smile, and he pressed his lips together to a thin line. She sobered. "I only wish you happiness, cousin."

Neji's gaze softened. "I wish it for you too, cousin."

She closed her eyes and exhaled softly. It was as far as he was going to allow her to go today, but she was glad that there had been some process. Pulling one of the desk drawers out, she obtained for herself a pen and several blank sheets of paper.

"I am going to write to Hanabi now," she told him, already placing several characters on the paper. "I want you to look into Root. We are going to assume that his target is Lady Kurenai, more specifically the child she carries, until further notice on your part."

"Yes, milady," Neji avowed. "With our usual contact or…?"

"Usual," she confirmed. "The others must wait."

"Understood." Neji nodded.

"Dismissed."

The Triple Threat bowed and retreated for the door, pausing briefly to remind her, "Remember to write to your father. He would be displeased if you were to keep him from our doings."

"Yes," Hinata agreed with a small smile. "And he can also keep an eye on Hanabi."

Neji smirked. "I am sure he will vouch for Prince Konohamaru."

"And I am sure, dear cousin," Hinata said with a smirk of her own, "that your mother will vouch for Tenten."

His left brow twitched, but he said nothing more as he left the room and closed the door behind him, ignoring her teasing laughter from within. His cousin's marital status would have to wait… as did his.

He glanced up to the other two members of the Triple Threat who had been waiting for him, and they shared a mischievous grin.

It was time to play chess.

xxx

**the point**


	8. Chapter Eight

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Eight**

The paper lanterns swung delicately in the wind, a soft _hush, hush_ that mimicked the bending stalks of the bamboo planted artistically along the walls and the lapping waters beneath the bridges. Strung high above the oriental garden, the lanterns cast an enchanting red glow over the wooden pagodas and highlighted the blush of the lotuses. Along with those silk lanterns trailing along the ground and hidden among the bushes, the lanterns provided just enough light in the night, just enough for the guests to make out the stone pathways that weaved around the pleasing boulders and fashioned floral displays: plums, peaches, chrysanthemums, azaleas and – one could never forget – peonies.

As an artist, he could appreciate the aesthetic value of the Imperial Gardens. He could admire the way the red lanterns washed the night in a film of pleasing pink, of how the red of the pagodas' shingles breathed new life into the air, and how the rouge of the lotuses seemed to reflect the lanterns almost perfectly side-by-side. He could approve of the green in the foliage, the green tinge in the waters, and the green silks of the passing ladies. He could endorse the blue in the inky night, the blue in the plum trees, and the blue in the velvet of the passing gentlemen.

He was an artist with an eye for colour.

He did not, however, understand – as one copy ninja would say – "the underneath the underneath." He did not understand that red was an auspicious colour… also a _seductive_ colour that purposely played off the dusted cheeks and painted lips of the noble ladies. He did not understand that the pine meant strength, that the lotus meant purity, that the chrysanthemum meant a strong life, or that everything in the garden was supposed to bolster the luck and strength of the Imperial Clan. He did not understand that the blue of the gentlemen had been picked out to match with the red ladies – the thunder-dragon to the fire-phoenix. He only understood colours and aesthetics.

That did not mean, of course, that he hadn't _read_ about these "the underneath the underneath" details. He had been informed of all those metaphors and symbolism, but he did not _understand_ them. For him, he only understood a person, place or thing by their aesthetic value – the rest did not seem viable to him. For him, blue could be as auspicious as red, the water could mean strength, or that men were equal to (and maybe even _surpass_) women.

He did not understand matriarchy. He only understood that he must be polite to women and didn't have to be polite with men. He understood that he had to hold the door open for a woman, but could, if he so pleased, slam the door upon a man's nose and break it resoundingly. He understood that he must please the women, but not true with the men. He did not, however, understand _why_, only that he _must_…

Or he would fail his mission.

"Left or right?" The lady turned her head this way and that, the gold in her chandelier earrings flashing in the lantern-light. It gave off a pleasing effect, he noted. "I think," the lady continued with a smile, "my left? People tell me that I look best from my left side."

He moved his lips upwards according to the books he'd read. It was called a "smile" and, just as he expected, the woman calmed significantly. "Your left side is the most pleasing," he told her truthfully. He had found that he was incapable of lying.

"Oh!" The lady blushed and nodded. "Thank you."

"Please stay still," he said, dabbing his brush in the red for the rouge on her cheeks.

She held perfectly still, almost statuesque, as he painted her onto the rice paper. He captured the light in her eyes perfectly, the curve of her cheek perfectly, and the suppleness in her lips perfectly. For her, he may seem focused and, indeed, the blush on her cheeks deepened for she believed him to be almost intimate in the way his eyes traced down her neck and the way his brush caressed the paper like he would her skin.

She didn't know, nor should she, that he was not paying attention to her at all. He was a master artist; one glance and he would be able to duplicate what he saw onto paper. Instead, as his hands moved unconsciously to paint her eyes, cheeks and lips, he was in actuality taking the time to note the location of several very important people.

The Empress was situated in the golden pagoda on the highest point of the garden, which also happened to be the centre of the garden. The Emperor was weaving through the throng of nobles and making pleasantries. The rest of the Imperial Clan were scattered about at equal intervals, acting as buffers between whatever animosities that may exist between clans and seeing to their guests' needs. The Imperial Clan was well organized amongst themselves.

As his brush detailed the delicate nose of the lady he was painting, he noted that the Lady Senju, along with her heir (and niece by way of her deceased First Consort), was in the corner where a few seedy ladies and gentlemen were situated who, he could only suppose, were there to gamble. The Second Lord Consort Senju, Lord Jiraiya, was flirting among women much too young for him while the Third Lord Consort Senju, Lord Orochimaru, was observing him with disdain.

The Lady Uchiha, along with her Lord Consort, had staked her claim on the pagoda to the left of the Empress'. It was a blue-painted gazebo with red highlights, but the most stunning of the Uchiha entourage were the Uchiha themselves. There were noticeably more Uchiha men than women foraged around their Mistress, but even their men had a feminine beauty in them that made his fingers itch to sketch them, more so when they refused to move far from their Lady Uchiha. Solidarity was their highlight.

In contrast to the Uchiha were the Uzumaki, the orange and blue pagoda to the right of the Empress'. The Lady Uzumaki, with her ferocious red hair, and her Lord Consort, with his bright blond, made a stunning combination of sun and fire in the midst of the moon and waters of the party. Unlike the Uchiha, the Uzumaki were loud and dramatic; several having detached themselves from their pagoda to mingle with the rest of the Court. They were not as beautiful as the Uchiha, but there was some… _spark_ in them that compelled him to find them relatively pleasing. Sociable was their strength.

As he started to mimic the intricacies of the lady's admirable earrings onto paper, he too began to list off the other noteworthy clans flitting through the garden: the Yamanaka near the Nara and the Akimichi, the Mitarashi with her innumerable harem… and the Inuzuka and the Aburame… waiting…

Waiting, just as he was, for _them_ to appear.

For _her_ to appear.

"Are you done, Sai?" Naruto, heir of the Uzumaki Clan, burst out like sunshine from behind him, startling the lady posing for him.

Fortunately Sai was not one to be surprised easily. "Hello, Dickless," he greeted easily, giving Naruto another one of his "smiles."

Naruto scowled. "Stop calling me that! And your _smile_! Stop that too!"

Sai did not change his smile, only turned back to finish his painting. He understood that he must be indebted to the Uzumaki for being his patrons, but he personally could care less. Having patrons or not, it did not deter him from his skills. But he did understand that having the Uzumaki for patrons allowed him to enter and move unhindered through the Imperial Court, and _that_ was important. Now, after months at Court, he had secured the position of a master artist – the one above the others – and there was no reason for anyone to suspect anything strange of him…

"Doesn't Sakura look beautiful tonight?" Naruto gushed, ignoring the perfectly beautiful woman having her portrait painted in front of them.

Sai did not have to, but for appearance's sake he gave Lady Sakura a courtesy glance. She had, once again, cornered the Uchiha spare between two peony trees. From Sai's own observations, he understood that the Uchiha almost never strayed from one another, and for the spare to… _wander off_… It was, indeed, strange.

He was about to speak his mind on the very matter when he caught the Uchiha spare's gaze drift to the peonies. Sai frowned. There were many things he did not understand, but out of all the things that he did not, the one that could even remotely irritate him was the Court's sudden obsession with _peonies_. He, himself, was an admirer of the rose: singular, velvet and immortal. The peony was too flighty and bold for him, too immodest in all her petals full in inhibited display. No humility. No grace. Subtle beauty was what he thought was best.

Sai finished the painting without looking and then turned, knowing that he must face the lady first before returning to Naruto's subject. However, just as he faced her, she, in turn, turned her visage from him. He thought it was a rather curious action, but his thoughts were cut short when the woman's earrings glanced gold, a wink as she swerved in her seat to face the garden's entrance. For a moment he was stunned by their colour and detail. Intricate filigree and small rubies, wrapped in a delicious gold to the forms of delicate phoenixes and fire.

He fought the urge to touch them, to feel them, to be a part of them – to immortalize their exquisite craftsmanship onto canvas.

"Sai," Naruto whispered, a subtle gesture from the corner of his mouth made unsubtle by the very fact that he was Naruto. The jab from his elbow didn't help him either.

Sai blinked. It was not the whisper or the jab that had caught his attention, but rather the blatant hush in Naruto's breath; the Uzumaki's _attempt_ to be _quiet_ was quite startling and it was a side of the blond Sai had yet to encounter. It was such a twist in Naruto's character that Sai made the decisive decision to face his supposed "friend," brushing aside the earrings as irrelevant at the sudden turn of events.

Again, he paused. Again, there was something abruptly different about the Uzumaki. It was in his expression. It was in his _eyes_, a shine – a shimmer of blue that reflected his anticipation, his anxiousness, his almost delirious eagerness. It was a shine mirrored, quite suddenly, on the other guests as well, a keen expectation manifested thick and consuming as a hush falling over the garden, their awed gazes directed to the entrance of the garden, their hopes thick and palpable.

Instinctively, Sai turned and-

"The Hyuga!" the herald sounded.

-and saw _them_.

Dark hair of rippling, smooth tides. White eyes of the full, unhindered moon. Pale skin of rich, heady crème. They were white, and yet black. They were light, and yet darkness. They were the perfect portrayal of the highest chiaroscuro painting and sketch he had ever encountered, the epitome of shadow and light and darkness, and he held his breath at their contrast, at the high art of moving pictures. Even as they numbered few, he felt that it was enough, enough to steal their breaths and make them still, enough for them to swallow in awe and stifle their voices – enough to bring a shiver of anticipation running up his spine as they floated into the Imperial Gardens.

Perfect posture. Perfect grace. Perfect refinement, but it was the silk – the beautiful, beautiful silk – that made him want to touch them, hold them – immortalize their opposing nature onto canvas. Lengths upon lengths of the richest, softest, deepest silks he had ever laid eyes upon whispered sweet nothings as they trailed along the stone pathways, almost teasing in the way the folds fluttered in the wind, almost smiling in the way the threads caught the moonlight.

He felt faint. He felt absolutely weak in the face of their beauty.

"_Beautiful_, isn't she?" Naruto voiced softly, quietly… lost in the same way as he was.

Sai trembled as the world shifted and the equilibrium within him was disturbed. Naruto wasn't admiring the whole, but rather a _part_ of the picture. _They_, the guests, were not admiring the whole, but rather a _part_ of the picture. They did not see the Hyuga Clan… they saw only the _girl_.

_The Lady Hyuga_.

His eyes shifted, his body shifted, his hands shifted, and he nearly let the brush slip from his fingers… for the girl was _not_ Hyuga. A momentary lapse in his admiration of the Hyuga's clothing, and he had somehow foregone the details, for two in the Hyuga entourage were _not_ Hyuga. Not of the black hair or white eyes or pale complexion. One girl had hair of a darker brown with brown eyes. The other non-Hyuga was a man with a bowl haircut and thick eyebrows.

But the one Naruto had spoke of, his tone of reverence and respect and incredulity, was not the girl with the brown hair, but of the Hyuga that was _not_ Hyuga. She may have the same black hair and the same white eyes and the same pale complexion that was so intrinsically Hyuga, but she did not inherit the sharp bone structure, the lithe elevated body, or the elegant cool aura that was so intrinsically Hyuga. She had a softer and almost babyish face, a shorter and plumper limbs, a clumsy warm feel to her. She was not Hyuga.

She did not belong in the picture.

His eyes followed her as she led the Hyuga before the Empress' pagoda, slowly falling to her knees to pay their respects to their leader. He noted, quite meticulously, the bold smile on her lips, the glaring glimmer in her eyes, and the insulting ease she utilized when she lifted herself from the ground after the Empress' welcome. While others saw a gentle smile on her lips, a soft shine in her eyes, and a natural grace when she lifted herself from the ground, he saw them as offensive and blaring and unsophisticated.

She did not act like a Hyuga. She did not look like a Hyuga. And despite her being named as a Hyuga, she did not carry her name as a Hyuga should. Because she was so different, so out of order, so dissimilar – _she ruined the composition_. She made the painting, the drawing, the sketch unbalanced and fragmented and unsightly.

While others saw something distinctly and wholly perfect, Sai saw something flawed. She was a pretentious peony among the modest roses. She was a distasteful pond in a perfectly designed forest landscape. She was a blemish on a portrait.

She did not belong.

Sai carefully put his brush away to avoid looking at her.

While others saw the Lady Hyuga as someone beautiful.

He "smiled" as he handed the portrait he had painted to the lady with the golden earrings.

Sai saw the Lady Hyuga as someone irrevocably and undeniably…

…_ugly_.

xxx

The Lady Hyuga and her clan took residence in the last of the remaining larger pagodas, the one formally held in the Hyuga name. She understood that if there were no Hyuga at Court, then the white and silver structure was to remain empty at such Imperial gatherings, admired for its intricate carvings and its almost ghostly grace… of its promise that one day the most sought-after Hyuga may appear. And in its beauty and promise, the building was kept pristine, clean and polished - a tradition kept intact for centuries' worth of loyalty, honour and strength to the Imperial Clan.

The Sarutobi were just as loyal to the Hyuga as the Hyuga were to the Sarutobi. Nothing denotes this more than the positioning of the Hyuga's pagoda in the Imperial Gardens. While the Uchiha's pagoda stood to the Sarutobi's left, and the Uzumaki's stood to the right, the Hyuga's stood _behind_ the Sarutobi. Silent, humble, watchful, the Hyuga had always sustained the might and glory of the Sarutobi in the shadows, a silent phantom that protected their charge from afar.

The Uchiha may annihilate with their fire. The Uzumaki may burn with their sun.

But the Hyuga would soothe and drug with their moon.

"The Lady Tao," the Hyuga herald announced from the threshold of the Hyuga's open pagoda.

Hinata graced a modest smile for the Lady Tao, a woman of middle age and entering the silent and atmospheric Hyuga pagoda most proudly. The Lady Tao was visibly shaken by the very presence of the Hyuga, but she put on a brave front with her husband and children a step behind – straightened her spine for the sake of her son's, and her clan's, future.

"Lady Hyuga." The Lady Tao gave a humble bow, her clan following not a second too late.

Hinata, settled on a white chair with her hanfu gathered fluidly at her feet, answered with a respectful nod, "Lady Tao. The sun shines bright."

The Lady Tao rose from her bow with a smile, hopeful and confident. "The sun shines bright."

"I do hope that the evening is treating you well," Hinata commented kindly.

"Yes, very well," the Lady Tao responded patiently, and then turned to her clan members. "Please, Lady Hyuga, I wish for you to meet my family. This is my husband," he bowed, "my heiress," she bowed, "and…" the Lady Tao sounded optimistic and eager, "my _son_."

The keen spark in the Lady Tao's eyes was not lost on any of the Hyuga residing in the pagoda. Even with her stare straight, forward and true, Hinata caught the unimpressed look the Triple Threat shot at each other; Tenten going so far as to flicker a kunai in her hand, a gesture of her impatience with the similar and disgraceful audiences they had been receiving all night. The other Hyuga in their entourage, soldiers and servants, were equally disgusted by these Ladies and their _sons_ – meagre, incompetent and-

"L-Lady Hyuga," the Lady Tao's son stammered in the Lady Hyuga's presence, his eyes lost in wistful wishes and dreams.

-_and weak_.

The Hyuga had no desire for _weak_ sons-in-law.

"My son is twenty-two, Lady Hyuga," the Lady Tao said, the forerunning sign of a list of accomplishments to come. The Hyuga didn't need to wait long. "He is an accomplished player of the shamisen and a great painter. He is well-versed in swordplay and taijutsu, and will being taking the upcoming jounin exams in the autumn. Rumour has it," the Lady Tao attempted a jest, "that he is the likeliest to pass!"

Neji nearly sliced open his throat, a sentiment shared by many of the Hyuga entourage in the pagoda, and most certainly by those in the far corners of the kingdom if they were to hear such an empty boast. Fortunately, they were well-trained and disciplined, their revulsion and antipathy for the Tao Clan well hidden in their endless eyes and blank masks – despite the insult. For it was an insult, an insult to parade such an unsophisticated and untalented beast in front of their mistress to partake in.

_Twenty-two_, and _still_ a _chunin_? Was the kingdom so misinformed that they did not know that their mistress, their beloved Lady Hyuga, had become a _jonin_ at _fifteen _– a _special_ jonin a year later? Were they so misinformed that the Hyuga were looking for a _chunin_ son-in-law? How preposterous! How ridiculous! How insulting!

And a shamisen player? The Hyuga had themselves enough for an orchestra to play for the mistress if she so wished it! And a painter? The Hyuga would die in shame if they were not accomplished in the brushes and paints themselves! _There was absolutely nothing the Lady Tao's son could offer their mistress_, and the Lady Tao insulted them if she thought her son could even compare!

Shit!

Multiple eyes swerved to the Hyuga herald standing by the threshold. Evidently, he had voiced the Hyuga sentiment aloud without meaning to, but the whole charade was rather trying and difficult – and _frustrating_. For the last two hours, greedy Clan Heads and social climbers had requested audiences with the Lady Hyuga, their marriageable sons in tow, all misty-eyed and lovesick at the sight of the Lady Hyuga – a glimpse was all men needed to fall onto their knees and lose their senses, much to the pride of the Hyuga. But none of them were worthy or skilled or handsome enough for the mistress, and if they were at any place but in the Imperial Gardens, perhaps somewhere private like a dead end street or empty alleyway, they would have put these idiotic _boys_ out of their misery… a single chakra point was all they needed…

"Shitake mushrooms, milady," the herald recovered flawlessly, as was expected of a Hyuga.

As if on cue, one of the Imperial maids appeared with a plate of well-cooked shitake mushrooms.

Tenten almost snorted in laughter with Lee taking pity on the herald. Neji, on the other hand, sent a fierce glare at the herald. It was a mistake none would repeat again.

Hinata was just about to kindly offer the mushrooms to the Lady Tao (knowing that the herald did not actually mean to say "shitake mushrooms") when another Imperial maid tapped lightly on the pagoda's frame. The occupants of the pagoda turned to the maid, who fell elegantly onto her knees under the eyes of the Lady Hyuga, humbled and overwhelmed by the Hyuga.

"Milady," the maid sounded with reverence, "my mistress, the Lady Yuhi, the promised hand of the Imperial Prince Asuma, has requested for your company near the pond."

Hinata almost jumped up from her seat and danced around the pagoda. Finally. _Finally_! _An escape route_ – a way out of all these countless meetings with marriageable (and undesirable) boys. She could have sounded in joy, but restrained herself, content with the sudden change of plans. Only her sensei could come up with such a devious and well-placed strategy.

"Milady," Neji addressed with a courtesy bow at the waist. "We should not keep the Lady Yuhi waiting."

"Yes, of course," Hinata sounded gently, and then turned to the Lady Tao. "Forgive me, Lady Tao. Lady Yuhi is my sensei and holds the Empress' high regard. I mustn't keep her waiting."

Taken aback, the Lady Tao didn't know how to respond. Of course, she was hoping to have her son in the Lady Hyuga's bed by the end of the night, but she could not gainsay the Lady Yuhi's request. The Lady Yuhi, after all, was to be a princess consort in a month, and the Lady Tao would never dare to insult the red-eyed beauty so early in the game.

"Of course," the Lady Tao conceded, her plans falling away right before her very eyes. "Good evening, Lady Hyuga."

Hinata nodded. "Good evening, Lady Tao."

The Hyuga all breathed a sigh of relief with the Tao Clan was firmly gone and away from their pagoda. The herald, more than happy to, informed the line of visitors outside that the Lady Hyuga was to depart from her pagoda and that she could not possibly see anymore guests that night. They had the pleasure, of course, to reschedule for sometime later this week. Many, of course, were disappointed (many men had their dreams crushed that evening), but were delicate enough to leave when informed to.

This was a social gathering in the Imperial Gardens; the Lady Hyuga was holding audience in her town house.

"_Wow_," Tenten hushed. "They all sorta suck, don't they?"

The Hyuga soldiers and servants dared not agree, knowing that it was not their place.

Hinata sighed and stood from her seat, the maids coming forward to fix her hanfu. "It has been rather… _trying_ to say the least."

Lee shared a sympathetic smile with his mistress and Neji glared – openly.

"They are incompetent, unskilled," her cousin listed without restraint or compassions, "weak, pitiful and _badly dressed_."

At the last characteristic, several of the Hyuga maids nodded. The Hyuga had a certain fondness for good clothing and suitable appearances. It was the reason why the hanfu their mistress was dressed in that night cost more than the Imperial Gardens! Hinata could only shake her head at the ridiculousness of it all, her silver hairpins chiming like soft and twinkling bells.

It was most fortunate that they had placed a silencing seal over their pagoda, or the whole Imperial Court would have heard their complaints – their lips concealed under translucent silk curtains to dissuade lip reading.

"Let us not be dispirited," their Lady Hyuga cheered softly. "Let us see to our old friends and meet more delightful company. The Lady Yuhi calls, and I am to answer. Let us smile now."

It was an impossible request for the Hyuga. Smiling, that was, but the whole Hyuga entourage seemed to calm now that their mistress was not to be trapped in their shiny and silvery pagoda. Airy and light, the Lady Hyuga led them forward and down the few steps from their pagoda and onto the beautifully tiled garden pathways; the lantern lights shining pink in her eyes and the flowers accompanying her robes almost perfectly.

The Imperial Gardens seemed to hold its breath upon seeing the Lady Hyuga descend from her pagoda, a butterfly breaking free of her cocoon…

A peony coming into bloom.

It was time to entertain the Court.

xxx

**This took much longer to write, I admit, but I had trouble portraying Sai. At first I wanted him to admire Hinata and love her on the spot, like everyone else, but then that would make everything much too easy.**

_**So I made him hate her**_**.**

**MWHAHAHAHA!**

**(Cough.)**

**Anywho, I just hope I didn't just write myself into a circle cause I don't know how he's gonna fall in love with her. It's going to be so confusing with all these guys. Good news though, Sai is the last in the harem. I hope you aren't disappointed!**

**the point**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Okay, before we continue, I know that some of the readers are confused about the boys. I have an easy trick that you can use to remember them: SKSKS.**

**Sasuke**

**Kiba**

**Shikamaru**

**Kabuto**

**Sai**

**NOT IN THAT ORDER.**

**I hope I didn't disappoint any of you with the boys. It's just that, I've already written a NaruHina, and there are already so many NaruHina fics out there… I just wanted to explore other couplings. Okay, I admit, SasuHina is common, but I just couldn't resist writing about a pouty, spoiled Sasuke. I've already written an emo, revenge-FTW Sasuke in ****Evanescent and Enduring****. Also, is it so hard to have a kinder, more loving Kabuto? (I'm about to find out!)**

**And Sai. (Sigh.) For some reason, I can't enjoy any SaiHina fics. Idk, maybe because Sai isn't very popular with me, but I do want to see if I can write him. Plus, SaiHina is rare as a couple too.**

**Shikamaru, obviously, is AWESOME! That's why he's here.**

**And Kiba.**

**Kiba.**

**Kiba, Kiba, Kiba. I just like that he's rough and feral and wild, and it's just gonna be so cool to have him tamed (for once). **

**I hope you'll continue to read!**

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Nine**

The Lady Yuhi was breathtakingly beautiful that evening, her red eyes softer in the lantern light and her hair tinting warm under the moon. In sooth, the Lady Hyuga may be a tad biased in that regard, but no one would dare say that the Lady Yuhi was not stunning that night. She wore a robe so red and interlaced with so many golden threads that she could have rivalled the empress herself if she were to coquettishly hide behind a rose bush, sneaking flirtatious and daring looks at every passing man – a little wink and she would have surely sent Prince Asuma into a jealous frenzy… not that it required much to send him into a murdering rage when his fiancée was so beautiful and men were always eyeing her discreetly.

(They eye her discreetly for it would be dishonourable and ill-mannered to eye openly.)

Which was why the Imperial Prince Asuma had thanked the Great Goddess the moment the Lady Hyuga had stepped into the Imperial Gardens. With the Lady Hyuga present to divert some, if not most, of the eyes from his pretty fiancé, he did not have to worry about some scoundrel sneaking close to his future bride, hoping to be her "other man" – her master (1) – after her marriage to him. Except, of course, for the Second Lord Consort Senju.

Of course.

"My beloved Lady Yuhi," Lord Jiraiya grinned, playfully lecherous. "I do say, you look simply _ravishing_ tonight."

A few of the ladies twittered. Most of the ladies glared at the insult. There were very few who hadn't heard of Lord Jiraiya's… _talents_ in the bedchamber, and even less had not laid witness to his stamina. He was, after all, one the Legendary Sannin. It was safe to admit that many envied the Lady Senju most heatedly and with sighs of disappointment. They would have loved to play with Lord Jiraiya all night… _every_ night…

Even from afar, with her kekkei genkai slumbering, the Lady Hyuga could see the disgust and frustration roll off from her sensei's person like a stone disturbing the surface of a still pond. But even if that were so, the Lady Yuhi dared not to insult the man who had so caustically and ungracefully broke into her personal space, for he was the Second Lord Consort of the Senju Clan, a clan more powerful than hers.

The Imperial Prince Asuma made to break from his elder brother's side to defend his right when he caught a ghostly figure from the corner of his eye. A shimmer of the moonlight reflected from the waters and the Crown Imperial Prince Akinori held his brother by his elbow, a touch to hold still, to lie in wait… for a good show soon to come…

"You know…" Lord Jiraiya murmured most enticingly, enough to make the Lady Yuhi cringe at the alcohol on his breath, "if you ever tired of the young (and inexperienced) prince, maybe you and I could… you know…" And he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The Lady Yuhi was so insulted that she nearly, and certainly it would be within her right to, raised her hand on the man and demand respect. But surely she would have insulted the Lady Senju. But surely she would have spoiled the Imperial soiree. But surely she would have divided the Court on the matter. But surely… but surely… The Lady Yuhi smiled at her nearing student.

But surely it did not matter because the Lady Hyuga was coming.

The Second Lord Consort Senju was taken aback by the Lady Yuhi's smirk and cool expression, as if she was about to get the better of him. Sensing something amiss, for all the other ladies and lords had gone silent, their eyes soft and glowing, sharp with anticipation, and Lord Jiraiya took a tentative step back from the Imperial Prince's fiancée. And it was strange, he noted, how Prince Asuma wasn't suddenly at his side, threatening to gut him. It was strange indeed…

Lord Jiraiya shrugged it off, and boasted, "Come, Lady Yuhi, let me show you the true secrets of the night… Let me… _kiss_ you good night…"

He leaned in.

The Lady Yuhi raised an amused brow.

He smirked.

"Lord Jiraiya," the Lady Hyuga's voice sounded like ringing wind chimes in the night, a soft tinkling that had the effect of the Imperial gong in midst of all this tension and expectation.

The Imperial Garden was not disappointed in the least, especially entertained when the Second Lord Consort Senju jumped back from the Lady Yuhi as if he had been caught on fire. In many ways, he _had_ been caught… caught _red-handed_ in an action most dishonourable and demeaning, and certainly insulting to both the Yuhi Clan and the Senju. And all the Second Lord Consort Senju could do, was blink owlishly at the white figure coming to settle peaceably by the Lady Yuhi's side, feather-like and steel-strength.

"It is exceptionally pleasant to see you in such high spirits tonight," the Lady Hyuga smoothed over Lord Jiraiya's offense with that kind tone of hers, gentle… and reprimanding to a Hellish degree. "How is the Lady Senju? I have yet to see her all evening."

She had yet to see the Lady Senju because the Lady Senju was currently occupied in the corner reserved for gambling. They all knew it, but the Second Lord Consort Senju was hesitant to say so. Gambling was an uncouth and unsuitable hobby to partake in, and Lord Jiraiya was momentarily thrown from his normally charismatic persona. It had been, after all, _years_ since he had last laid eyes on the now Lady Hyuga, and he marvelled at the difference. In those years she had certainly blossomed, and certainly made him speechless with that wisdom and knowing in her eyes. Truth be told, he did respect her for her strength and her role in the Ten Years War.

The Second Lord Consort Senju knew when he was beat.

And he was beat.

He chuckled, running a roughshod hand through his unruly white hair. He admitted defeat in that one gesture, a sign of his retreat. "My Lady Hyuga, you do tease me so. Whatever happened to that young girl so shy and bashful?"

Hinata smiled, eyes carefully concealed and words well thought out. "She had to grow up."

And so they all had to, and Lord Jiraiya was surprised by her honesty, by her unmasked answer, by the wisdom in her words. Other women would have felt the need to tease him, to trick him, to divert his attention elsewhere, but the Lady Hyuga did not. She did not bother to conceal herself, did not bother to lie, did not bother to make herself something less than what she was. She was truthful and _honourable_, characteristics so hard to find in young women nowadays that he had forgotten what a _true_ Lady was.

She could be the empress if she so wanted. It was a shocking revelation.

Suddenly very sober and sombre, the Second Lord Consort Senju acknowledged the Lady Hyuga, impressed by her decency. War made them grow up. War hardened the last generation. War gave them armour and a mask to wear. War made the Lady Hyuga hardier and better than her peers, than those before her, and the Second Lord Consort Senju acknowledged, and respected, that – her.

"Perhaps…" the Second Lord Consort Senju suddenly spoke, suddenly remembering, "you would like to meet my godson?"

The Hyuga Triple Threat tensed, a move unnoticed to all eyes save for their mistress and the Second Lord Consort Senju.

"Oh?" the Lady Hyuga sounded politely curious.

The Lady Yuhi frowned most visibly, and Lord Jiraiya almost laughed. The Yuhi hoped to thwart him, and he found it most amusing.

"Yes," the Second Lord Consort Senju answered the Lady Hyuga with a nod. "He is the heir of the Uzumaki Clan, Lord Naruto. He is a powerful jinchiruki – the Kyubi, and an accomplished… _jonin_." His eyes sparkled in a way that suggested that his godson was perhaps _more_ than just a jonin. "He remains the Uzumaki heir until he… _marries_. He would be an asset to any clan, seeing as his father, the Lord Consort Uzumaki, hails from our clan, the Senju."

The Lady Hyuga smiled civilly and knew that she could not avoid meeting this… Lord Naruto if it were a direct request from the Second Lord Consort Senju himself. She would not do the Senju discourtesy by refusing to meet one of their kin, and would not insult the Uzumaki by ignoring their heir. She almost sighed at this well-devised scheme. She had just brushed aside dozens of Clan leaders and their marriageable sons, hoping to have a moment with her sensei… only to be cornered by a lecherous man and his godson.

The considerate smile remained on her face as she acquiesced to the Second Lord Consort Senju's idea, who smiled, liking her courage and impeccable manners. She would remember her manners even at the most direst of times, even at the most ill-timed of times, even at moments where she wanted to flee instead. He admired her self-control and discipline.

"I'll just go find him them, shall I?" Lord Jiraiya enquired, but it wasn't really a question.

"I will be waiting, Lord Jiraiya," the Lady Hyuga affirmed with a kind nod.

The Second Lord Consort Senju bowed, suddenly remembering what chivalry was, and then forged ahead in search of his godson. It wasn't until he was firmly gone did the Lady Yuhi take the Lady Hyuga by the arm and lead her forward to admire the pond. It was a subtle gesture, a well-timed gesture, that took them both (including the ever-watchful and vigilant Triple Threat) away from the crowd, but certainly not from prying eyes.

"You look lovely tonight," Kurenai told her student, a little rough at the edge due to their earlier encountered, a little disgruntled at the thought that the lecherous old man was to return… with his _godson_ of all people!

Hinata blushed. She suddenly felt like that little girl again when beside her most lovely and most beautiful sensei. She could hardly be anything warm when her sensei was by her side, reassuring, comforting, encouraging. She smiled and spoke softly, "I am not nearly as lovely as you tonight, sensei."

Kurenai's eyes twinkled like red stars, patting Hinata's hand affectionately; the Triple Threat and the Lady Yuhi's Imperial maids falling a few respectful steps behind the two beautiful women. But that was not true. By their eyes, and the eyes of the whispering observers watching them from afar, one was a beautiful woman, in full bloom, and the other a young, budding girl… so lovely, so promising… so _illuminating_ that she would surely steal their souls once she was to reach true womanhood.

The pair paused on a bridge overseeing the Koi in the pond, the lotuses and lily pads bobbing from the motions of the fish and wind. With the moon and lanterns, the Koi appeared like silver gems sliding through the water, and Hinata admired them, her gaze yielding and luminescent. The admiring sighs of their audience did not go unnoticed by Kurenai, or the Triple Threat – Neji almost glaring at the barbaric men who dared to stare so blatantly at his mistress. Clearly they were without manners!

"Hinata," Kurenai spoke quietly, so miniscule and so unobtrusive that her lips barely moved.

No one was to hear them. No one was to read their lips. No one was to be privy to their thoughts.

"Hai, sensei," Hinata responded, her mouth remaining a firm flat line, her attention seemingly still on the Koi.

"You mustn't grow fond of the Uzumaki heir," Kurenai counselled.

"I understand, sensei." And she did. She understood more than Kurenai could ever know.

Balance rested on the Hyuga now.

It rested on _her_ now.

She straightened when she heard footsteps drawing near, two sets of them. One set she recognized as the Second Lord Consort Senju's, and the second was of someone more rash and energetic – a certain enthusiastic skip to their heels. Lord Jiraiya did not mask himself, nor should he in midst of the Imperial Court and wanting the approval of the Lady Hyuga, and neither did the one following him, not even to restrain the noise of his boots and the laughter in his toes.

With care and a gracefulness many women and men envied and admired at equal terms, the Lady Hyuga turned with the Lady Yuhi to face the men, two beautiful flowers – one a full rose and the other a peony bud – that nearly stopped the men in their places. Indeed, there was a slight twitch to the Second Lord Consort Senju's hand upon meeting, first, the red eyes and then, second, the white ones.

They were a force to be reckoned with.

An impenetrable wall if the empress were to be at their side.

"Lady Hyuga." The Second Lord Consort Senju bowed, calm and refined, such a contrast to his day-to-day self that many ladies hid their surprise behind their pretty, pretty fans. "Lady Yuhi." He bowed again. "May I introduce my godson, heir of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto Uzumaki."

The Lady Hyuga politely slid her gaze to the bright and beautiful blonde at the Second Lord Consort Senju's side, and nearly faltered at the blue in his eyes and the spark in his wide, open grin. Something within her chimed at the sight of his thick, unruly golden locks and the rich, tanned complexion of his face – of the whimsical and delightful whiskers marked along his cheeks. She had seen taller men, but his height mattered not for he seemed to tower the garden with his warmth and candidness alone. He was not stocky either, but rather muscled and ripe. He was just seasoned enough to pluck, just firm enough to touch, just sweet enough to taste…

The Lady Hyuga closed her eyes from the sight, slow and controlled.

He was magnificent, but she recognized her error at once.

This was _lust_.

When at last she opened her eyes again, her… disturbing stirrings set aside as efficiently and effectively as Airi, the Main House housekeeper, would snuff out the last candle, the Lady Hyuga was once again impeccable and composed. She ignored Lord Jiraiya's knowing look, that teasing and pleased glint in his leering gaze, and directed a careful and restricted smile to Lord Naruto.

"Lord Naruto," the Lady Hyuga acknowledged benevolently. "The sun shines bright."

Silence.

Complete silence.

The whole Imperial Gardens stood stock still as Lord Naruto stood, equally, stock still. The Lady Hyuga was momentarily perplexed by his silence and his lack of greeting, even more puzzled (as were the Triple Threat) by the shock so apparent on the faces of those observing their party. She could have sworn she could have heard a cricket in the far distance, could have sworn that this blonde and fit man would be quite loud. His footsteps had told of his barely restrained energy.

"_Wow_…" Lord Naruto gaped, his blue eyes turning to glittering sapphires, a beautiful spectacle where Hinata had to blink again to avoid from falling or reaching out to him. "_WOW_!"

The Lady Hyuga nearly startled at his sudden burst of enthusiasm; Neji certainly frowned at the horrible display of self-control.

"You're the Lady Hyuga!" Lord Naruto sounded both enthusiastically and loudly… _very_ loudly.

Hinata was just about to acknowledge his observation when he was sudden in front of her, his nose nearly touching hers and eyes so close that she felt herself beginning to drown. His breath, warm and full, brushed against her cheeks and she could feel herself warm and grow weak.

Neji gurgled, visibly, in the background.

"You're beautiful!" Lord Naruto announced, almost breathless and falling himself.

"Naruto!" Lord Jiraiya exclaimed, pulling his godson back by the collar of his orange and sun-yellow kimono.

Hinata felt her breath come back to her once the Uzumaki was a few steps back from her presence. She hadn't even seen him _move_. Either he was fast, or she had been too distracted. And she was ashamed to admit that there was certainly… _a lot_ to be distracted by.

"_Discipline_, Naruto," Lord Jiraiya whispered loudly, upset by his godson's lack of decorum.

He truly wished for the Lady Hyuga's approval of Lord Naruto, Hinata realized, truly wished for the _Hyuga_ to approve of Lord Naruto. She noted this, and nearly blushed when Lord Jiraiya raised a knowing brow in her direction. _He_ understood the Lady Hyuga's sudden acceleration of heartbeat, and no doubt others would notice this as well.

She took a long, even breath, strict and restricting, and forced her body to level back to the calm Hyuga she was. She had to remind herself.

He was courting Lady Sakura.

Only an improper man would dare _court_ any woman.

"Lord Naruto." The Lady Yuhi felt right to interrupt then. "It is wonderful to see you in such high spirits."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "It's _the_ Lady Hyuga!"

Hinata would have certainly let her cheeks stain red at his eagerness and interest, but she had become sensible once again. He, like she, was only eager and interested because they did not know each other well save for appearances. He was a lovely creature of the male kind, and she knew that she had everything a man of any stature would want: status, riches untold and a name that could fell mountains at the slightest slip of the tongue.

Beauty was of little consequence, for Hinata knew that she was not beautiful like the rest of her kin.

At best, she was _passing_.

Straightening her spine, lowering her shoulders and lifting her chin, Hinata conjured the Hyuga mask of infinite patience and ever-enduring politeness, of the unending strength of a single blade of grass bending in the fierce wind, and prepared herself for small talk.

Small talk.

And knowing how devious and excited Lord Jiraiya was at his godson's keenness in her and her earlier shameful lapse of composure at the sight of him, he was going to cause much grief (in particular for Neji), mischief (much to Tenten's amusement) and embarrassment (to Lee's horror and sympathy).

By the end of the evening, Lady Kurenai would make it her life's mission to smite the Second Lord Consort Senju upon her crowning of becoming an Imperial Princess.

Lord Jiraiya would not be cowed.

xxx

Kiba took a long, deep breath of the night's air, letting the summer's breeze fill his lungs and stomach to the brim before exhaling in a short, vindictive _huff_, disappointed and spiteful. Even the air in the Capital was uncooperative; he wanted the biting chill of the country to sharpen his senses and bring him to attention. He had drunken too much sake and vodka that night, and no doubt that he would drink even more for the rest of it. He knew he would regret it in the morning.

But tonight.

Tonight…

It had seemed like the right thing to do, what with those women creeping so damn near him and watching him so damn close. Once or twice, a well-manicured hand had brushed against his arm, thigh … and even lower and more intimate than he cared to recall. So he had drunk to distract himself, to hide himself, to make it seem like he was more preoccupied than he really was…

Too preoccupied to be pulled into anyone's bed.

He rolled the port in his hand, the dark and full poison scenting sharp and deadly in the small glass. He paid it no heed, leaning against the banister and looking out into the secluded pond, the weeping willows sighing in the wind. It was fortunate that he had found the opportunity to slip away from the party, stalking off into a quieter and more private courtyard, darker and calmer and _safer_.

For the most part, he had kept to Shino. Shino was always reliable and they had grown up together, a sort of childhood friends that strained over the years due to Shino being so prim and proper, and Kiba being so… wild and… _loose_.

Kiba _tsked_ at his thoughts and sighed, a linger of shame warming his cheeks.

During his teens, Kiba had been a tad… _promiscuous_. He had never been a small boy, all muscle from his training, and all stamina from his breeding. He, like the rest of the Inuzuka Clan, was untameable – feral and daring and _challenging_. Many ladies – young and old – had found him irresistible, and him, being so young and untried and so very, very eager, had not refused any of them (except for those who were butt fugly and old). They welcomed him into their beds, and he gladly (and so unsophisticated like an unborn pup) devilled into their arms of dark allure and heady seduction.

He had spent years in such play of twisted sheets and bloody kisses, and needless to say, he had come out worn, tired and empty. His mother and sister had said nothing, but they knew of his mating from the mixed scents on his skin, and the delirium in his eyes after a long night out. And he hadn't thought there was anything wrong in it, until Shino…

Shino.

Kiba took a sip of the port, shuddering at the bitter alcohol rolling down his throat. It felt good – _made him alive_.

It had been Shino who told him that he must stop. Not only had he been neglecting his friends, but he had also neglected his training. With the Ten Years War, many women and men had found convenient beds to stave off the darkness and the deaths, and Kiba had been no different, only that he enjoyed it a lot more at the beginning, and then found it cold and bitter in the end.

Shino had told him that he must no longer be a boy, but a man, no longer play, but be serious, for they had to mature a lot quicker than their predecessors in order to survive and protect those they loved. The threat of a Kumo victory had been startling real at the time, and he hadn't understood it until that night…

Akamaru touched his cold nose to Kiba's elbow when he felt his master's dejection. Kiba smiled ruefully and patted his partner on the head, his memories spinning back to that night.

That night…

When he had been out tussling with a woman, he hadn't known that he Kumo spies would attack the Inuzuka Compound. Many of his clan had been slain that night and sister had been injured enough to send her into a coma. It had been such a startling wakeup call that morning when he had returned to find his home in shambles, and his family torn – his sister near her deathbed.

He should have been home instead of trysting with a young maid. He should have been with his family when they had been attacked. _His mother should have skinned him for being out instead of being relieved to see him unharmed_… for if his sister had died, there must still be an heir.

He could have been the Inuzuka heir.

And when Shino had found him later, raw and choking, Kiba had confessed that he felt so helpless. They knew, as boys, that a part of their helplessness was because they were, undoubtedly, _boys_. Boys were quicker to cave to their vices, quicker to weaken at the sight of a pale thigh and red lips, quicker to fall because they were not yet strong enough to control their tempers and bodies.

Men, too, were quicker to fall than women. Boys were quicker than that.

So Kiba had to become a man, even if he were not to be heir. He had to become stronger and responsible. He had to have more control and power. He had to know his weaknesses and cut them out.

He had to be someone befitting the Inuzuka name.

Which was why he had slipped away from the party so early, away from the numbing alcohol and coquet fluttering eyes of the passing noble ladies. He had to leave from Shino's side, for although Shino and his kikaichu were quite effective in fending off the ladies from him, he could not possibly submit Shino to such plays as flirtatious winks and pinching ass cheeks.

For although Kiba had strived to be a man over the years, he was still… a little bit of him… a _boy_.

He still sighed when Ino kissed him, and still groaned when Anko bit him.

He still felt empty in the morning.

"Damn," he whispered, the harshness he wanted to inject into his curse faded halfway from shame alone.

Shame.

Shame that he was still as lost as the first night he lost his virginity.

Was there no woman who could truly tame him?

"Why, _hello_, Kiba." A slippery female slithered out from the eaves and into the pale moonlight, her violet eyes glittering like sharp amethysts. "I was _looking_ for you, _boy_."

Kiba's body shuddered at her suggestive purr, and he downed the port for courage. He could resist her, but not for long, not with her hypnotic abilities and her oh-so-delightful hands, hands that knew no boundaries and knew how to hurt so exquisitely that it became pure and unadulterated pleasure.

Akamaru stepped behind Kiba, a low growl in his throat. He, too, disliked the female, but he could not attack her when his master went so willingly to her so many times and so quietly without protest. One of these days, he waited, his master would not go.

Kiba stood from the banister and turned his body to face her, calm and composed. He must resist her tonight, for he had still yet to give his pleasantries to the Lady Hyuga. His mother and Lord Shibi planned for the Tracking Alliance to meet at the end of the soiree, in front of the whole Imperial Court as a symbolic gesture to solidify their relationship and to end the night with a resonance.

He would be an idiot to mar his mother's plans.

She had so few of them to begin with.

Kiba smirked at his own little joke.

"Happy to see me?" the woman asked, moving forward.

The high slit in her kimono showed her pale, smooth thigh and Kiba swallowed uncomfortably.

"No," he said, his tone holding even and strong. "Anko. Leave me alone."

"Oh?" The Lady Mitarashi perked a playful brow. "You don't want to visit me tonight."

Kiba scowled, feeling his determination waver when one side of her kimono slipped and revealed an alluring shoulder. Usually, he was quite good at exerting his clan's authority over her and pushing her away, but… _blasted alcohol_! He should not have finished the port.

"No," Kiba repeated, more firmly, even as she raised her slender fingers to his cheeks.

He shivered at her touch.

_Damn port_!

"L-Let g-go," Kiba stumbled, feeling heat rise in his body. "D-Don't touch me."

"You don't mean that, _Kiba_…" Anko hummed, lips drawn to a wicked and seductive smile.

Kiba tried to look away. _Truly_ he tried. He turned his face from her and accidentally caught her eyes in the pond's reflection. He feared that perhaps her genjutsu would catch him through the waters and tensed, only for her to press his face toward hers again. He hadn't a moment to think how idiotic he was, for a genjutsu could not be activated through a reflection, before he felt her viper-like chakra pull him in.

"St-Stop," he protested feebly.

"Come, _Kiba_," she breathed against his lips.

Her expert hands slithered down his chest, his breath heaving all at once, and he felt his resolve begin to break-

"Oh!" an elegant feminine gasp broke the spell, a sophisticated and innocent surprise that reminded Kiba that he must be a man and resist.

Immediately, he shoved Anko away from him, and looked to the newcomer.

He hoped she would not report this farce to his mother-

Akamaru whined and bowed his head.

Kiba felt all the blood drain from his body.

Even Anko stumbled at the sight of _her_.

"Did I interrupt something?" the Lady Hyuga enquired in that polite and endearing way of hers.

His mother was going to kill him.

For _sure_, this time.

xxx

**(1) I wrote "master" because a man has a "mistress." So if the other woman is a "mistress," then I figured that the other man is a "master." I don't know if that would be the best sophisticated term for "boy toy," so if any of you have a better word, please provide!**

**the point**


	10. Chapter Ten

**I know what you're thinking: WTF? An update for both Another Way to Serve _and_ The Hand of Lady Hyuga?**

**That's right, bitches! The holidays gave me time to write!**

**Enjoy! :D**

**xxx**

**The Hand of Lady Hyuga**

**Chapter Ten**

She hadn't meant to interrupt. She hadn't meant to embarrass them or to make it difficult for their pride. She hadn't meant to have them clumsily attempt to salvage some sort of decorum or poise in her presence after such a devastating tryst—but she hadn't meant to stray from the central courtyard either. The heady profusion of scents worn by the heavily made-up ladies coupled by the coarse, uncouth greed of the fathers who begged for their sons…and the Lady Hyuga had needed a moment for herself.

After that self-actualizing and mortifying conversation with Lord Jiraiya and his obvious selling of his godson, the beautiful Lord Naruto...and the Lady Hyuga realized that she needed a moment to breathe and collect herself. She was both ashamed and shocked by how defenceless she was in the face of deep sapphire eyes, satin-golden hair and a complexion so luxurious that it suffocated her.

"_Lust,"_ she thought, _"is dangerous."_

No wonder men fell to the weakness. No wonder women were so unarmed.

Lust can happen unexpectedly: a glance, a smile, a wink, a scent…a well-placed drug.

Hinata kindly overlooked the unbecoming blush on the Lady Mitarashi's painted face—a mixture of both embarrassment and anger for being interrupted—as the Special Jonin straightened after being so roughly cast aside by Lord Kiba. Hinata would have been sympathetic of the woman if not for the obvious terror on the Inuzuka's face—a mixture of being caught in such an improper action…and for allowing himself to be in such a situation to begin with.

The Lady Mitarashi, suddenly remembering what _decency_ was, hastily drew the material of her kimono over her exposed thigh and fixed the collar to, once again, sit demurely at her shoulder. The many years spent at the Ninja Academy and under the strict tutelage of her governess had the Lady Mitarashi immediately correcting her posture unconsciously. The undignified fumbling with her clothing told the Lady Hyuga just how false she was.

The Lady Hyuga had found the Lady Mitarashi wanting, not because of how the Special Jonin dressed, but because of how she acted. Only a villain would coerce an unwilling boy into bed. Only the most vilest of creatures would use unhanded methods to hasten such distasteful schemes.

Hinata had felt the genjutsu beginning to churn, and given how feeble Lord Kiba's protests had been she assumed (and rightly so) that the Lady Mitarashi regularly succumbed him into her devilish tricks. Hinata had not missed the relief mixed into horror of his gaze when she interrupted. He hadn't wanted to go with the Lady Mitarashi.

Which was why she had stepped forward.

She hadn't meant to interrupt or embarrass them. However, Lord Kiba's repeated refusal and his waning struggle to turn away had been glaringly obvious to the Lady Hyuga. He needed help, and she was not one to decline. The fact that the Lady Mitarashi had not only been dishonouring the Mitarashi Clan, but also the _Inuzuka Clan_, meant that the Tracking Alliance was also being dishonoured.

If Lord Kiba had been willing, then Hinata would not have stopped the rendezvous. However, he _hadn't _been willing. In fact, he had told the Lady Mitarashi more than once to _stop_. As the Inuzuka Clan was finer than the Mitarashi Clan, the Lady Mitarashi should not have overstepped herself. To do so would insult the Inuzuka. To do so would insult the Tracking Alliance. _To do so would insult the Hyuga._

This meant that subtle politics had to be played and the Hyuga, of course, were _very_ adept at being _subtle_.

After waving aside the Triple Threat, the Lady Hyuga had entered the smaller courtyard overlooking a pond. It was quieter here, stiller than the central Royal Courtyards, and there were even fireflies floating among the gardenias. Lotuses bobbed prettily on the pond's surface; the moon's reflection glimmering between the lily pads. Lanterns, dimly lit and casting soft shadows along the stone walkways and barristers, waved in the soft, warm breeze.

"Oh!" she had gasped quietly. "Did I interrupt something?"

And that was how they had found themselves in such an awkward impasse: the Lady Mitarshi hurriedly fixing her lewd state of dress, the Inuzuka's dog-nin hunched close to the ground in shame, and Lord Kiba quite stunned with no little fear for his reputation, his clan's reputation and even the Lady Hyuga's reputation.

Hinata gave him a look filled with compassion and a smile that spoke of her understanding, quite well, what had been happening.

He looked ready to jump into the pond and end it all.

It was such an unexpected and startling revelation on Hinata's part that she almost laughed. It was ridiculous for a boy to end his life after bedding a woman. After all, there were very few consequences (besides honour and reputation) that could hinder a boy after coupling. It was the woman, after all, who risked pregnancy.

And honour and reputation did very little to hinder one's skills in protecting those they loved and cherished.

He was being foolish and hyperbolic—wild and feral like all Inuzuka—that she found it quite endearing.

"Forgive me," Hinata roused after a moment of silence. "I did not know that this courtyard would be occupied. Lady…?"

She left the query open and knew that the Lady Mitarashi would be obliged to fill it. No clan would do the Hyuga discourtesy.

"Anko Mitarashi, my lady," the Special Jonin offered, a little tight from being caught off-guard. She attempted a small bow, but her outfit did not allow for modest displays of respect.

"Of the Mitarashi Clan?" the Lady Hyuga queried with flattering interest. "It is an honour to finally meet you. Your renown in the Snake Summons is much admired by my clan."

The Lady Mitarashi smiled, stilted and uneasy. The Lady Hyuga was not easy to read. "I thank you."

From her peripheral, Hinata caught Lord Kiba starting to hyperventilate. He was not made for subtlety—quite the opposite of the Hyuga, actually—which meant that she must end this charade (well played as it were) before it could truly begin.

"I am, in truth, glad to have crossed your paths," the Lady Hyuga said modestly. "I have been looking for Lord Kiba for quite some time."

Lord Kiba startled, his heart palpitating like mad and eyes wide with fear.

Hinata was quick to calm him. "As you know, the Hyuga are much obliged to the Inuzuka. Would you be so kind, Lady Mitarashi, to allow me to speak some words with Lord Kiba? He is an important member of the Inuzuka Clan-"

_Don't fuck with the Inuzuka._

"-our Tracking Alliance has always been close-"

_Don't fuck with the Aburame and the Hyuga._

"-and I have a special fondness for our friendship."

_Don't fuck with _me_._

"I hope to become familiar with Lord Kiba as I have had very little chance to do so in the past," the Lady Hyuga concluded with a gentle smile.

_Lord Kiba belongs to me._

Subtle. So subtle. But it was not beyond the Lady Mitarashi's quick intelligence and scathing wit. She could not, however, voice her true words or put her actions to a challenge, for doing so would insult the Hyuga and bring disgrace to the Mitarashi. She was outmanoeuvred and could not play this game. She did not know how powerful the Lady Hyuga was, having not witnessed it herself, but she knew that the Mitarashi's strength _paled_ in the face of the Hyuga.

Perhaps, just _perhaps_, the Lady Mitarashi could lower the Lady Hyuga. But by doing so, the Hyuga would _eradicate_ the Mitarashi.

No one wanted to fight the Hyuga.

_No one._

Unable to refuse without sounding like an intruder to clan matters, or even a _commoner_, the Lady Mitarashi had very little choice but to oblige the Lady Hyuga. Dipping an agitated bow, the Lady Mitarashi retreated. "I understand, Lady Hyuga, the importance of friendship. Lord Kiba and I have been friends for a long time now, and I know how _desperate_ he is to expand his _circle_. May we meet again, Lady Hyuga."

_He's a whore._

"It would be a pleasure," Hinata returned, much more kindly and gentle.

The Lady Hyuga watched the Lady Mitarashi's deep purple silks slither past the courtyard's threshold. The stone wall that partitioned the garden into perfect squares had cast a shadow over the slick woman as she paused briefly—no doubt having spied the Triple Threat stationed at the other side of the stone wall—before moving on.

From the distance, Hinata heard a round of cheers coming from the central gardens where the soiree was just beginning to crest to a climax. Once she was sure that the Lady Mitarashi was gone, her chakra signature melding with the others at the party, Hinata turned to grace Lord Kiba with a consoling smile.

"Are-"

"Please don't tell my mother!" Lord Kiba burst suddenly.

His dog-nin whined and placed his paws over his eyes, not wanting to witness the downward shame that was sure to happen. Lord Kiba immediately paled and gaped, having realized what he had said and done. He could not believe himself to be such a dunce and a flounce!

Hinata wanted to laugh. He worried too much, and it didn't help that he was drunk. He could drink, she surmised from the scent of port and sake in his vicinity, but he'd drunk enough alcohol that evening to mar his judgement and impair his movements…just a little. The blush along his cheekbones, a mixture of embarrassment and modesty, was quite the opposite of the Lady Mitarashi's.

His was rather becoming, actually.

She caught Neji's harried sigh coming from the other side of the garden wall. No doubt that Lord Kiba's bumbling display was grating on her cousin's more "refined" tastes. Lord Kiba's roughshod appearance would have downed a few Hyuga as well. It was quite…_refreshing_ in Hinata's mind. His imperfection made him unique and perfect in his own way.

A lantern swinging from the wall revealed a sliver of red lipstick on Lord Kiba's cheek. It was a souvenir left by the Lady Mitarashi, and no doubt Lord Kiba would be unhappy to find it there. No doubt the _Inuzuka_ would be unhappy to find it there. It was wrong, Hinata observed of the paint on his cheek. It marred him somehow, a mark that spoke of the past he wanted to forget, to correct, to break from.

She had read his files and understood his self-hate.

But the fact that he wanted to better himself—_was_ bettering himself—meant that he was a good boy.

Someday, she thought, he would make a good man.

Unconsciously, Hinata raised the sleeve of her hanfu and very gently, very carefully, smoothed out the red lipstick from Lord Kiba's cheek. It was a soft graze, hardly a touch, but felt more intimate than a lady respecting a lord. Her finger accidently stroked his cheek and an unexpected shiver ran down her spine. There was a certain curiosity to find his skin smooth and not at all rough like she expected—a certain appeal to feel the start of bristles growing along his jaw…

He was to be a man soon.

Startled, the Lady Hyuga withdrew her hand and stepped back. She found herself unable to meet his gaze, spying instead his dog-nin watching them curiously. She could feel the heat of her blush and the unsteady beat of her heart. When she dared to glance upwards, her bangs grazing her eyelashes, she saw her blush reflected on Lord Kiba.

This was ridiculous, she chided herself. This was what happened when she had so little exposure with boys her age. Lord Naruto had nearly decimated her. Lord Kiba now had her without her wits. She would need to cure herself of her body's illogical needs.

"Ridiculous," she muttered to herself, aware of the Triple Threat's unblinking watch. She blushed even further at the thought of Tenten's teasing.

"I-I'm sorry," Lord Kiba stammered, stepping back and curling defensively. He thought she had spoken of him!

Quickly collecting herself, Hinata shook her head kindly. "I did not mean you, Lord Kiba." She breathed in deep, faltering when she took in the heady perfume of port mixed with his natural scent of grass and earth. It was not unappealing, and again proved her lack of training in terms of the male species. "I only meant that Lady Mitarashi had overstepped herself."

She congratulated herself with her fast recovery.

A pained look crossed his expression and Lord Kiba cast his gaze out to the pond. "I…" He did not know what to say.

Knowing that this was a sensitive subject, Hinata offered, "We should return to the festivities if we wish to commence with Lady Inuzuka's arrangement."

Lord Kiba pressed his lips. She was speaking of the Tracking Alliance taking a drink together to show their solidarity and camaraderie. They knew that he must be in attendance; he was the son of the First Family.

She could read his hesitance, still ashamed of himself, and she reassured him by taking him gently by the hand and leading him from the pond. He was surprised, his breath catching, as he found himself following after the white and silver threads of her silks.

The Lady Hyuga would not say, but she felt her breath catching as well.

The sensitive groves of his larger fingers felt foreign and lovely in the delicate softness of her more smaller and feminine hand.

xxx

Shikamaru watched the Lady Hyuga return to the central courtyard with Kiba in hand. He was surprised, not at finding his hand in hers, but rather who had returned earlier from the same doorway. He had spied Lady Mitarashi hunting Kiba earlier that evening; for her pursue to be disrupted was a feat in itself. Even Ino, he knew, had trouble dealing with Anko when concerning Kiba's…_nightly activities_.

Shikamaru blinked and chose to cut off his thoughts before they got too visual.

It would seem that the Lady Hyuga had rescued poor Kiba. Shikamaru chuckled. Kiba hardly needed rescuing in most matters, but _anyone_ would be daft if they didn't need rescuing from Anko.

He glanced around the revelry, catching the Lady Hyuga admiring a set of balloons and sparklers. Her obvious delight gave him pause. There was hardly anyone at court who was as artless and unmasked as her. Again, she had nothing to fear and he admired her for it. He admired that she could be herself when others would be ashamed to be so open and happy and delighted.

He admired her ability to _live_.

As the Lady Hyuga smiled at a balloon artist, Shikamaru noted that she had not released her hold on Kiba. He was not the only one who noticed, of course. Those who were sober enough to witness such a blatant display knew enough to keep their thoughts to themselves. Those whose tongues had been loosed from being plied with alcohol could not keep themselves from speaking undecorated words.

Shikamaru, like the Lady Hyuga, understood that if she were to let Kiba go, the Inuzuka could fly from the festivities at any given moment. Anko was still prowling in the shadows, after all.

Amused, Shikamaru glanced at his friends at either side of him. Chouji, to his right, was nursing a bag of popcorn and watching the Lady Hyuga's advance to the middle of the courtyard. To his left, Ino was frowning. She would have scowled if the Lady Hyuga was not the Lady Hyuga. Ino would not be having Kiba that night and Shikamaru was grateful. As much as he loved Ino, he sympathized with Kiba. Kiba had been too loose in his youth, and he was paying a price that Shikamaru could never imagine himself paying.

"That's a beautiful dress," Chouji admired of the Lady Hyuga's garb.

Indeed, Shikamaru agreed. He did not know much about women's clothing, but the pearlescent hanfu the Lady Hyuga was clothed in was simply breathtaking. Layers of while silk, threaded with peonies in silver spool, caught the lanterns and glances of the moon perfectly. The silver adornments of beads and bells in her hair played off of her ebony tresses well. The minimal paints on her face, embellished by her own natural blushes and admirable pale complexion, was envied by many that night. There was a certain grace and elegance in her long sleeves and the even longer trail: a divine moon spirit come to grace them.

Shikamaru wondered what it would be like to be Kiba at that moment, to be trailing after her, hand in hers, warmth in her warmth…

He sighed, "Troublesome." She was not his to have. Or rather, _he_ was not _hers_ to have. _"Politics,"_ he thought, disgruntled as always.

As usual, the Lady Hyuga was unaware of all the fuss she was causing. Theories and assumptions were immediately made about her relationship with the Inuzuka spare; the court was having such a game that night! In retrospect, Shikamaru reflected, the fuss hardly mattered in the Lady Hyuga's life. The theories and assumptions hardly bristled any Hyuga feather or dented any Hyuga armour. It all mattered very little in their lives, for there were more important matters to deal with than rumours.

Shikamaru smiled when he saw his sensei kissing Lady Kurenai sweetly.

Yes. Other matters. Other _more important_ matters.

Like Lady Kurenai breeding.

Leaning against the garden wall, the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team were presently shadowed over an awning. Shikamaru had called them together and, as much as Ino complained about missing the party or some dashing boy, they were now a little ways off from the crowd and noise to speak.

They took Shikamaru's call seriously.

"Ino," he said and she responded with a nod. "I want to know about Lady Kurenai."

Ino raised a brow, curious and a little confused. "What do you mean? You know as much as me."

"I mean about her pregnancy."

Neither Chouji paused in his popcorn-eating nor Ino in her confusion over the topic. Prince Asuma was their sensei, of course they knew of his approaching fatherhood. In fact, they were beside themselves with joy, only restrained for the sake of decorum and the secrecy of it.

Shikamaru sighed another "troublesome" and began again. "I want to know if there are others privy to the information."

Ino frowned, her eyes flicking as she filed through her thoughts. "Only the usual persons: the Sarutobi, the select Senju, us-"

"Our clans," Chouji supplied.

The Sarutobi and the Ino-Shika-Cho had a relationship that strengthened with each generation, a ceremony and bestowing of trinkets that bespoke of the maturing of the next Ino-Shika-Cho generation. Each Ino-Shika-Cho was bound, privately, to guard an individual Imperial Sarutobi member. It was what made the Reconnaissance Alliance so infallible; the Sarutobi could not exist without the Ino-Shika-Cho, and vice versa. There was very little the Sarutobi knew that the Ino-Shika-Cho didn't.

"_Save for, perhaps, the Hyuga,"_ Shikamaru amended. Aloud, he theorized, "The Powerhouses?"

"No doubt the Hyuga," Ino agreed, putting sounds to Shikamaru's thoughts. "The Empress and the Lady Hyuga are inseparable, much less Lady Kurenai and the Lady Hyuga."

"Uchiha," Chouji acquiesced. "That's why Kakashi is courting Lady Shizune, isn't it? To get more information on the babe?"

"Uzumaki," Ino added. "The Senju and Uzumaki have always been bound together."

"Can we assume Aburame?" Chouji put forward.

Shikmaru nodded at this. The Aburame's kikaichu were formidable spies, and fortunately they were allies. If the Aburame meant harm to the Sarutobi, the Hyuga would have to interfere. The Hyuga, Shikamaru was sure of it, would side with the Sarutobi.

No one wanted to fight the Hyuga.

_No one._

"Not the Inuzuka," Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "They don't do clan politics."

"Not well," Chouji said in mercy.

The Inuzuka were too rough and loud to do anything subtle. They were lucky to have the Aburame and the Hyuga as close allies. Given their penchant for the superfluous and noise, none of the Aburame and Hyuga would inform the Inuzuka of this precarious news; it would only distract the Inuzukas from what they were good at: tracking, hunting and protecting.

It was, as Ino had vocalized, the usual persons who knew. This meant, as the Lady Hyuga had surmised, that-

"_Everyone knows_," Shikamaru mumbled aloud.

At this, Chouji and Ino went rigid. The sudden implication of Lady Kurenai being in danger was suddenly very real and daunting. The child in her womb, the growing _Imperial_ child in her womb, could mean the life or death of some very important players of the realm. At any given moment, Lady Kurenai could be kidnapped or murdered, and their precious sensei's hope, dreams and love would be dashed in an instant.

For Team 9, that was unforgiveable. After all the blood, sweat and tears they've shed for each other—after the Ten Years War that nearly destroyed them and all they held precious—to be downed with one of their happy endings was just at the horizon?

_Unforgiveable_.

Ino's eyes went cold and steely—an ice in her blue eyes that chilled. "I'll talk to Sakura and keep an eye on Orochimaru. _He's a fucking sneaky snake_."

Chouji dropped his bag of popcorn in the trash and turned thoughtful. "I'll catch up with Naruto and get some information on Sasuke. Maybe Shino will let something slip?"

"I've been given the duty of guarding Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru revealed. "The Lady Hyuga will be at Lady Kurenai's side." The shock coming from Chouji and Ino was palatable, but Shikamaru continued regardless. "I will track the Lady Hyuga," an idiot's plan, of course, "and see where it takes us."

At a distance, the Lady Hyuga had finally released her hand from Kiba's and was now joining the Lady Inuzuka and the Lord Regent Aburame at the middle of the courtyard. They had delicate cups of sake in their hands and were to cement their alliance for all to see. It was a brilliant show, and there was no doubt in Shikamaru's mind that the Lady Hyuga was being genuine and true.

There was no doubt in Shikamaru's mind that the excitement in the Lady Inuzuka's eyes and the relief in the Lord Regent Aburame's expression were genuine and true. However, how genuine and true their alliance was, was yet to be known. The Reconnaissance Alliance did not know the inner workings of the Tracking Alliance, just as the Tracking Alliance did not know the inner workings of the Reconnaissance.

Shikamaru caught Sasuke staring at the Hyuga, Aburame and Inuzuka with envy and longing.

It must be nice, Shikamaru admitted, to be so sure of themselves.

No one wanted to fight the Hyuga.

_No one._

Ino-Shika-Cho left the wall and divided ways. They knew their parameters and would play their roles well.

Lady Kurenai would be safe, Shikamaru surmised, under the guardianship of the Lady Hyuga.

Prince Asuma, however, would be entirely in his hands.

Shikamaru hoped he wouldn't fumble; he admired the Lady Hyuga for her surety.

xxx

**the point**


End file.
